


Morning and Evening, Day and Night

by digimaniac33



Category: Hainish Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin, Homestuck
Genre: Multi, Sedoretu, with cameos by others
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-15
Updated: 2015-05-15
Packaged: 2018-03-30 16:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3943768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digimaniac33/pseuds/digimaniac33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Dave, Mobiles of the Ekumen, find more than they expected when they visit O.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning and Evening, Day and Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenfalling/gifts).



> How could I pass up doing a sedoretu fic?
> 
> I did my best to work within Ursula LeGuin's world, but I took quite a few liberties, as well (for example, I use the terms aunt and uncle in a Terran, not ki'O sense). I hope you enjoy!

_Thirty years ago_

"So. You're really leaving."

Rose looked up from her suitcase, pausing her internal debate on just how many shirts one needed when running away from home, and gave Dave a cool look. "I'm not often in the habit of lying, you know." She considered her words for a moment. "Not about anything this big, at least."

He conceded her point with a small tilt of his head, his face still carefully blank. "You think being a Mobile will really be much better than staying here?"

"Can't be any worse," Rose stated as she started packing again. She pulled every shirt she owned and tossed them all carelessly into her bag as Dave continued talking. "Don't see how it's all that bad, really. I mean, Mom's famous and all, but it's not like everyone thinks you'll be just like her."

Rose frowned as she threw another couple of shirts into her suitcase. "No, but they won't stop comparing me to her, either." She sighed and stopped her manic packing to face her half-brother. "Please don't try and convince me to stay, Dave. I know this means I'll probably never really come home again. I know this means dedicating my life to other worlds, and I know it means giving up my life here. I thought all of this through quite deliberately before I ever announced my intentions, and I will not be swayed, so don't even try." She gave him one last look, but he said nothing, so she continued packing as many of her belongings as she could into her suitcase.

When she was all done, the room looked very empty, but her suitcase didn't look much fuller. She closed it, ignoring the way her heart was suddenly crying out for her to stay. It was nothing more than a defense mechanism, after all, and she had more important things to get on with. She took one last look around, then turned to Dave, who was still standing in the doorway. "I suppose this is goodbye, then." She wasn't holding back any tears. Now wasn't the time to cry, after all. She'd leave her family with her best impression, and then she would be free. Alone, but free.

Dave smirked. "Goodbye? Nah." He stepped aside, revealing his own suitcase, stuffed to its full capacity. "You didn't really think I'd let you go alone, did you?"

* * *

_Spring_

Jade held the yama lamb close, hugging his limbs to her chest with one arm as it tried to kick and balk away. Her other hand carefully snipped away at his fleece without nicking the skin. When all the precious fleece was collected, Jade let the lamb go scampering back to his mother, a placid ewe who'd undergone her own fleecing with resigned calm.

The farmer stood up straight and stretched out her aching back. She looked out over the small field, where other members of the Prospit farmholding were finishing up the rest of the sheep. They'd been at this task for days, and finally they were almost done for the year.

A child's voice drew Jade's attention to the road. Casey, an Evening child of the Second Sedoretu, was running up the path yelling about something. Jade couldn't tell what she was saying right away, though. When she entered the fields, her words finally became clear. "A ship! There's a ship in the Center! It's a spaceship!"

Jade dusted her hands off and headed for the gate with her bags of raw wool as Casey was caught and tossed around by Elizabeth, her othermother. Jade smiled at Casey's high-pitched squealing, happy to see the young girl in such high spirits. She'd been devastated at breakfast when told she wouldn't be allowed to help with the shearing that day. Now she was all smiles and laughs as her othermother flipped her one way and another. "Hey, can the whirling dervish answer some questions for me real quick?" Jade asked when she reached the pair, tossing the words out through her own laughter.

"Sure," Liza said as she carefully dropped a still-giggling Casey on the ground. The child almost toppled over once or twice before finally sitting back. Stifling her laughter, Jade kneeled in front of Casey. "Well? What was the spaceship like?" Seeing Jade would entertain the young girl for the moment, Liza returned to keeping an eye on the yama, making sure they didn't stray out of the field.

Casey jumped forward, eager to tell her aunt all about her adventure. "It was so cool! I was playing by the river with Nathan and Gil and Izzy, 'cuz Izzy got a new fishing net and she wanted to show it off, and Nathan was trying to catch a fish with it when the ship came zooming in overhead! It was all big and silver and fast!" Casey waved her arms through the air, trying to show just how fast the ship had flown.

Jade knew the ship must have actually been very slow, but there was no way she was going to ruin Casey's fun. "Did you and the others run it down?"

"Yeah!" Casey shouted, then reconsidered. "Well, Gil didn't 'cuz he had to go home and help weed the garden, but me and Izzy and Nathan all went and saw it land by the Center."

"Cool!" Jade stood and dusted off her knees, smiling as Casey clumsily imitated her. "Hey, can you do something really important for me?" Casey nodded quickly, eyes wide with eagerness. "These bags," Jade gestured at the wool-filled sacks at her feet, "need to get inside, where Jude is. Can you handle that for me?"

Casey nodded again and picked up the bags. It took a few seconds for her to get her balance with them, since they were almost bigger than she was, but soon enough she was trotting back to the carding shed. Jade watched to make sure she didn't stumble or fall immediately, then turned to follow the road down to the Center.

As she passed through the final gate separating Prospit territory from unclaimed lands, a quick pattering came from behind her, and her brother John joined her. "Heading into town?" John asked, his expectant grin showing he already knew the answer.

Jade considered making something up just to mess with him, but John was always better at that sort of thing. Instead, she said, "I guess Casey's still pretty excited about the ship, huh?"

"Oh yeah," John answered as they strode down the hill together. "She's gonna be talking about it for months, I'm sure." John's grin turned sly. "She's not gonna be the only one, though, right? You haven't had any new machines to fawn over for a while." He sighed dramatically. "So sad, having such a technophile in the family."

Jade punched him lightly in the shoulder. "It's not my fault machines work better than most people. They're prettier than some, too."

"Not prettier than me, of course."

"Hmmmmm....." Jade drew out the sound just until John's smile started to fall. "I _guess_ you're prettier than machines. Just a little, though." She gestured with her fingers to show just how little the difference was.

"Oh gee, thanks." John's attempt at dry words was belied by the large grin he couldn't get rid of. Changing the subject, he asked, "So what do you think this ship's brought? New materials for the university?"

"Maybe," Jade said as they came onto level ground, their rough path joining those from other farmholdings to form the main road leading into the Center. "I think they're trying some new interplanetary teleportation experiments soon." Jade couldn't keep a hint of longing out of her voice as she spoke of the work they were doing at the university.

John gave her a sympathetic look. "I know you really wanted to study there. It sucks that Jane and Jake said you couldn't."

Jade sighed. "It's fine. I know they need every hand they can get, and there's lots of work to be done on the farm." _I just wish I could do both._ She didn't bother saying that out loud - not because John wouldn't understand, but because he would understand too well. He wanted to become a scholar of the Discussions, but their parents had stopped him in his tracks, as well.

She didn't want to dwell on the things they couldn't have, though, so instead she said, "Maybe they're bringing in a super-deluxe ice cream machine."

"Or an industrial leafblower," John countered.

"An ansible that communicates so fast, your message arrives before it leaves."

"Robotic yama, with steel wool!"

The pair traded suggestions, each more ridiculous than the last, as they walked through the Center towards the landing strip. Upon arrival they joined the small group of onlookers already there, watching the bustle of activity. Foreigners were scurrying in and out of the ship, loading parcels onto transport vehicles and bringing others into the ship's cargo bay.

In the midst of everything, two individuals were separate from the flow of workers. A woman with golden brown skin stood near a pile of personal luggage, searching through one and then another as though she was checking everything was in its proper place. Nearby a man with similar complexion leaned against the plane's body. It seemed like he was keeping an eye on everything that was happening, but the sunglasses he was wearing made it difficult to tell. Occasionally, the woman would say something to him, and he would fire a few words back at her.

"Huh," John said, craning over the heads of those in front of them. "What are those two up to?"

Jade frowned thoughtfully. "I dunno. They don't seem like students or professors."

Soon, the exchange of goods was complete and the ship's crew returned inside. The ship took off soon after, leaving behind a few passengers. Most of them met with university officials and were led away, presumably to settle into a lab somewhere, but the woman and man were still there, hefting their belongings and heading towards the Center.

The farmers, including John and Jade, moved aside to let the strangers through. As they passed, Jade heard the woman murmur under her breath, "Feels a little like being a fish in a bowl, doesn't it."

"At least the view's nice," the man murmured back. His eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, but he was definitely looking in Jade's direction when he said that.

The woman glanced the same way and smiled slightly. "Mm, yes, I see what you mean," she said as they passed out of the range of Jade's hearing.

John nudged Jade out of her thoughts. "What do you think those two are here for?" His voice held the same curiosity Jade was feeling. It didn't seem like he'd heard what they said, though.

"I don't know," Jade said thoughtfully. "I'd really like to find out, though."

* * *

Dave pulled out one of his shirts and tossed it haphazardly into the dresser. He studied the effect, then carefully moved one sleeve to more appropriately convey his cavalier attitude towards the concept of laundry.

"Very nice," Rose commented gravely from her side of the small room.

"Thank you," Dave replied in an identical tone. He looked at the rest of his clothes and decided living mostly out of his suitcase for a couple of days sounded like a great idea. He turned to face Rose, who was now trying to find a good place for the personal books she'd brought along with her. Her clothes, on the other hand, were stuffed into the dresser without nearly as much finesse as Dave's. "You're getting your shit organized in the right order this time. None of that fake orderliness crap you tried pulling on the last planet."

Rose flashed him a quick smile before focusing on her books again. "You've set such an example for me, I couldn't possibly act otherwise."

"Damn straight," Dave said. He took stock of the room they'd be sharing during their time on O. Two beds, two desks (complete with swivel chairs), two dressers - one side was basically a mirror of the other. "Is this smaller than the last place? It feels smaller."

"Only by a few centimeters, if anything." Rose sat back on her bed, personal items organized to her satisfaction.

"A few centimeters can make a major difference, you know. Remember that one planet, when you tried hiding your date from me behind that closet door? I wouldn't have noticed a thing if the door could've opened properly."

"I wouldn't have tried to hide her if you hadn't been trying to sneak into your own room," Rose said. "I thought you and your paramour for the evening were a couple of thieves trying to score a quick hit."

Dave shrugged. "Look, that guy wanted to keep things quiet, and I didn't want to scare him off. Not my fault you're way too paranoid all the time."

"That 'paranoia' served me well when that girl you dated during training was trying to set you up to get tossed out of the program."

Dave laughed. "Yeah, that was fucking hilarious. Almost as bad as the guy who tried to kidnap you that one time. Remember him?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? It was such a shame, he'd been so charming before that."

Before Dave could bring up another story, someone knocked on their door. He raised an eyebrow at Rose, who raised her own back before answering the door. Behind it stood a black-skinned man who looked about their age. Dave recognized him as one of the farmers who'd been in the crowd when their ship landed. "Hi there!" The guy actually waved at them, even though he was standing about two feet from them. The muscles in the corner of Dave's mouth twitched a little. "I'm John, of the Prospit farmholding. My sister and I wanted to invite you to dinner with our family. We figured you wouldn't have anything else planned since you just got here and all, and you're obviously not part of the university or you'd be living in their dorms instead of staying here."

Rose turned over her shoulder to give Dave a look. John shifted from one foot to another. "Uh, yeah, so that's the Prospit farmholding. We're through the Center and over the hill over there," he gestured vaguely towards his left, "you can ask anyone for directions if you get lost. Well, some of the kids might try and trick you, but they're not very good at pranks so you'll probably see right through them. You both seem like pretty smart people, after all! I mean, I don't know much about you except seeing you get off the ship and all, but -"

"Thank you for the invitation," Rose finally said, breaking through John's words. He didn't get upset at the interruption, though, nor did he seem to pick up on Rose's dismissive tone. He just smiled widely and said, "Okay! We'll see you in a couple of hours, then! Remember, it's the Prospit farmholding!" He waved again and scampered off before Rose or Dave could say another word.

Rose closed the door and faced Dave, her arms crossed and her face blank. "Well, that was certainly... different." Most people would have called her tone neutral, but Dave could tell she was a little suspicious. He couldn't tell why, of course - mysteries like that could only be solved when the world was about to end.

"Can't beat free food," Dave countered. "Anyway, aren't we supposed to mix with the natives, experience the local culture and all that? You know how the big guys eat that shit up."

Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem excited about this. Anything you want to tell me?"

Dave scooted back on his bed so he could lounge a little better. "You know me, I'm all about that assimilation crap. Give me a hoe and something to plow, I'll be the best fucking farmer in the universe. I'll travel all over the place, entering every farming contest they've got, and the other competitors will just weep when I show off my insane farming skills. Bow their heads, take off their little farming hats, and mourn their wasted lives, all because I discovered my true calling in life."

Rose looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh, which was just what Dave liked to see. Finally, she gave a small nod. "I suppose we wouldn't want to keep you from your destiny, then. I just hope you don't drive them to tears until after dinner."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Dave replied. "I never risk a free meal, you know that." Rose smiled, obviously refraining from reminding him of any number of times where he'd done exactly that, and returned to her luggage. Dave followed suit, figuring he might as well change out of his traveling clothes now that he had new people to impress. _Gotta make a good first impression, after all._

* * *

"Seb! Get off there!" John raced towards the wily three year old, who was doing his best to scale a cabinet. Just as the cabinet was tilting forward, threatening to squash the child beneath its weight, John reached the disaster in progress. He steadied the cabinet with one hand and grabbed Sebastian with the other. The boy attempted to squirm free, but John kept a firm grip on him, marching him back to the children's room. "No more escape attempts, you hear me?" John scolded. Seb only doubled his squirming in response.

He walked through the living room into the living quarters, intent on chaining Seb to the wall in the children's room if that was what it took to keep him in one spot. When he opened the room's door, though, Frig streaked out past his legs, Vomu as close on her heels as she could be while crawling. "Ah, geez!" John moaned as he tried to trap Vomu with one foot without hurting her, letting Seb go, or falling over. He noticed Casey sitting quietly in the children's room, completely absorbed in a book. "Casey!"

She looked up and giggled. "Hi, Uncle John! You look a little silly."

John's smile at her was a little strained. "I feel pretty silly! Can you help me out?" He nodded at his feet, where he was carefully pushing Vomu back towards the room. "Please grab Vomu, I really don't want to step on her."

Casey skipped over to the door and pulled Vomu into her arms, laughing at her silly uncle all the while. "Squishing the baby is bad, Uncle John!"

John gave her another strained smile in return, which barely avoided turning into a wince as Seb tried to dig his knee into John's kidney. "That's right, Casey. We definitely don't want to squish the baby. Now, you hold onto Vomu until dinner, okay? I have to hunt down your other germane now." Seb still hiked up under one arm, John set out to search for the four year old, hoping she hadn't gotten too far.

John headed for the kitchen first, knowing that was one of the worst places she could have gone. The only people in the kitchen were his brother Paul and his mother Jane. "You two haven't seen a rogue four year old run through here, have you?" John asked, shifting Seb from one hip to the other. The young boy seemed resigned now to his fate.

"Haven't seen a thing except this pot, John," Jane said as she viciously stirred up a pot filled with a delicious-smelling soup. "Paul?"

"Hm?" He looked up, his hands still working the dough for the next day's bread. "Haven't seen or heard Frig, no. You've lost her?"

John sighed. "Yeah... Guess I'll go look somewhere else, then." On his way out, he snuck a taste of the soup, nimbly dodging his mother's retaliatory smack. "It's tasting real good!"

"You get out of here, before you find out what my spoon tastes like!" Jane shook her spoon at John dramatically as he flitted out of the kitchen, sharing a grin with Paul. Their mother liked to play at threatening them, but just as often she encouraged them to skirt around the rules.

Stepping through the kitchen led John to the dining room, where Joey was clearing various projects off the table with Liv in her arms. "Haven't seen hide or hair of the kitten," she said before John could even open his mouth. "I see you've got my little monster, though." She gave Seb a soft bap to the nose. He screwed his face up and rubbed at his nose, obviously disgruntled at the indecent treatment from his mother.

"Could you take him?" John asked, a little desperately. "I've got my hands full with the other kids, and it'd be a lot easier if my hands weren't, you know, literally full." He lifted Sebastian to illustrate his point.

Joey smiled ruefully. "Sorry, John. As you can see, I've got plenty on my own hands." She nodded down at Liv and her adorable sleeping face.

John pouted. There was really no arguing with a lady who had a newborn. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you at dinner then, I guess." She waved him off and he walked into the living room.

Confronted with the sight of his greatest foe, the unscaleable cabinet cliff, Seb began to struggle again. "Nope!" John pulled Seb upright onto his hip, holding the boy with both arms. "This is not playtime, Seb, this is time to get ready for dinner. And you're not allowed to play on the furniture, anyway." He walked quickly through the living room towards the front entryway. If he didn't find Frig there, he'd go back through the living quarters and flush her out of wherever she was trying to hide.

He rounded the corner into the hallway and there she was, hands just grabbing hold of the handle of the front door. John panicked and froze for a precious moment before leaping into action. That moment of hesitation cost him, though, as she opened the door and raced outside before he could get to her. "Frig! Stop!" John shouted in vain as he wrenched the door open again.

Just a few meters away was salvation in the form of Jade and the two offworld strangers. The woman was lifting Frig up just as John noticed them. "Hey, John!" Jade said. "Look at who I ran into on my way back from the fields." The man raised his hand in a lazy motion, while the woman wriggled the hand supporting Frig on her hip. Her other hand was being studied and played with by Frig.

"Oh, hi! Uh..." John bit his lip. "I didn't get your names earlier, did I?"

The woman smiled slightly. "No, you ran out rather quickly after extending your invitation. In fact, you didn't even wait for us to accept it." The man snorted a little, his mouth muscles twitching.

Jade looked at her brother in disbelief. "Wow, John. Really? That was pretty rude of you!"

"I had a lot on my mind!" John tried to defend himself.

"That's no excuse," Jade said. "Luckily I am not nearly as rude as you. This is Dave and Rose," she gestured at the man and woman respectively, "and they're Mobiles here to learn about ki'O culture."

"Oh, wow! So this invitation was an even better idea than we knew!" Rose gave him another smile, like what he'd just said was funny somehow. He smiled back at her and gestured inside with his head. "Well, come in, Jane's nearly finished with dinner by now, I think." John looked at Jade. "Are the others coming in now, too?"

"Yeah, they should be right behind us," Jade answered as they moved inside. "Jude wanted to plant a few more rows before calling it a night."

John rolled his eyes. "Of course he did." After the others passed him, John closed the door and found himself next to Rose, who was still holding Frig. "Oh hey, thanks for grabbing her! I can take her off your hands now, if you want." He offered his free arm, hoping Seb was done being a pest for the night.

Rose shook her head. "I like holding her, actually. She reminds me of a cat I had when I was younger."

"Wow, really? That's so weird, Joey calls her kitten all the time!"

"Hm. Perhaps she really is a cat, then." Rose gazed into Frig's eyes. Now that he was closer, he could tell Rose's eyes were a strange shade of purple. John shook off his initial instinct to back away from her - weird eye colors didn't really mean anything, he was just being childish. While he was thinking about her eyes, Rose asked Frig, "Is that what you are? Are you a little kitten just playing at being human?" Her voice held no babying tones. In fact, she seemed quite serious, as though her question held great importance.

Frig looked at John, who gave her an encouraging smile. Instead of answering, though, she just buried her head into Rose's neck. Rose smiled down at her softly, and John felt his heart almost burst.

By then, the small group had reached the dining room, the table prepared for dinner to be set out. Joey sat at one end, Liv settled in her lap. Paul sat next to her playing with the baby's hands. Jane was setting out the large pot of soup when she caught sight of the new arrivals. "Oh good, you found her. Go get the other children now, and Jade, you help me get the rest of the food out here."

"Okay!" Jade snagged Dave by the elbow and dragged him into the kitchen. John giggled at the brief look of panic that passed over the previously stoic man. Then, he gave Rose a look. "So, do you want to help me get the other kids?"

"Of course. I fear you'll kidnap me if I say otherwise," Rose said airily.

John gave her a huge bucktoothed smile. "Wow, you figured us out fast!" Rose laughed politely at that, and together they walked to the children's room. Casey was still sitting where John had left her, only now the book was on the floor instead of her lap. That prime lap real estate was taken up by Vomu, who was paying more attention to the book's pages than Casey's attempt at reading to her. The older girl was incredibly patient, though - every time Vomu tried to flip forward or back, Casey would gently take her hands away from the book and flip back to where she was reading from. John stood in the doorway, appreciating the simple scene for a few moments, before he said, "It's dinnertime, Casey."

"Ah!" Casey jumped and looked up. When she saw John in the doorway, she pouted. "Uncle John! You scared me!"

John stifled a laugh. "I'm sorry, Casey. I didn't mean to. I came to get you for dinner."

She continued pouting. "Can't it wait? I'm reading Vomu the story about the orange-eyed demon."

"Oh, that is a good one," John said. He remembered it from when he was a kid - a demon who looked just like everyone else, except for the glowing orange eyes. It had given him nightmares for months, but he'd loved it anyway. "How about I help you read it to her after we get some food?"

Her pout vanished, replaced by a huge smile. "Okay!" She got up as fast as she could while still holding onto Vomu, who drooped from her arms like an overripe fruit. "Let's go!"

John stepped back, letting Casey enter the hallway before him. When she did, she stopped short at the sight of Rose holding Frig. John said, "Casey, this is Rose. She'll be joining us for dinner tonight."

"Hello, Casey." Rose gave a little wave of her free hand.

"Hi," Casey said quietly, shy in a stranger's presence. Vomu slipped a little out of her arms, and she shifted to try and hold onto her better. Everything she did just made Vomu slip further down.

"Here." Rose knelt down and held out her free arm, Frig clutching around her neck. "I have an arm to spare for carrying another one."

"No!" Casey shouted, doing her best to hold Vomu up. "I'm the biggest, I've gotta be responsible!"

Rose looked like she was going to insist, but John caught her eye and shook his head quickly. She shrugged and stood back up. "Fair enough. I wouldn't want to impugn your abilities, after all."

Casey narrowed her eyes at Rose, trying to see if she was being made fun of. After a long moment, she started down the hallway towards the kitchen, struggling to keep Vomu above her knees.

John and Rose followed behind, keeping an eye on the girl to make sure she didn't trip and hurt herself or Vomu. "Thanks for that, Casey takes her responsibility as the big sister really seriously. She's not very good at it yet, but she wants to be, and we're all trying to encourage that as much as we can."

"It's no problem, really," Rose said. "Speaking honestly, it's easier for me to let her carry the little one than it is for me to do the carrying."

John shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't think a lot of people get that. They just see a little kid and think, 'She can't really do anything important, I'll just do that for her'. You're letting her try, at least." He nodded at Frig, who was resting against Rose's neck again. "It seems like you're really good with kids, actually!"

"Thank you," Rose said as she shifted Frig carefully to her other hip, letting the young girl settle on that side of her neck. "I've found children respond very well to being shown respect. Better than many adults, in fact, since they're trained not to expect any."

"Heh, you might be right about that." John smiled at her, and she smiled back. Unlike most of the other smiles she'd shown so far, this one seemed warm and genuine. Heat prickled up John's neck, and he could feel himself getting ready to babble like a buffoon when Seb kicked him hard in the kidney. "Oof!" John glared at Seb, who stared back unapologetically. "Okay, let's get back to the dining room. I'm ready to dump this guy back with his parents."

* * *

Jade dragged Dave into the kitchen, pleased to have finally evoked a reaction from the guy. In the kitchen, a bowl of salad was ready to go, as were the bowls and utensils for the family and the remains of the day's bread. "You grab those bowls," Jade said as she picked up the salad bowl.

Dave didn't move, and for a moment Jade thought he was going to refuse. Eventually he just said, "Okay," and picked up the bowls carefully, cradling them to his chest as though afraid he was going to drop them.

Jade giggled a little as she picked up the bread in her free hand. "You can grab the forks and spoons, too, you know," she teased. He gave her a cool look, his eyes hidden behind the shades he still hadn't removed. "Unless you really need to protect those bowls that badly."

The man looked down at the bowls in his arms, then back at Jade. "They absolutely need protecting. These bowls are like little baby birds, okay, and I ain't letting shit happen to them. Not on my watch. No harm's gonna come to my baby bird bowls before they get on that table, and nothing better happen to them afterwards, or I'm gonna have to do something about it."

Jade stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter. The laugh came straight from her gut and shook her whole body until she was practically crying. She put the salad bowl and bread down, afraid she'd drop them in the middle of her laughing fit. As she laughed, Dave just stood and stared at her, his face almost completely blank. Even through her tears, though, Jade could tell he was smiling a little.

"What's taking you two so long?" Jane bustled into the kitchen, sweeping up the utensils. "Everyone's come in from the farm, we're just waiting on the food to get dinner started. Go on, move!"

Jade got her laughter under control. "Okay, we're right behind you." She scooped up the salad and bread again, gesturing Dave to follow Jane back out of the kitchen.

"Okay, salad here, bread here, and bowls for everyone," Jane directed as she passed out the utensils. Dave looked at Jade - for permission or reassurance, maybe, Jade couldn't tell - before he started handing the bowls out. Jade laid down her burdens as Casey waddled into the room with Vomu, followed by John and Rose carrying the other children.

John dropped Seb next to Paul, who immediately snared his son's waist. "Whew!" John stretched out his back and groaned. "That is a literal load off my back!" Jade saw Dave and Rose share a look, as if they were holding back from saying something in response. John didn't notice anything, though. He tried to take Frig from Rose, but Frig clamped down on Rose's shoulder and buried her face in Rose's neck. "Wow, she really likes you a lot," John said.

Rose seemed just as surprised as John. "I guess she does. I can't imagine why."

"Obviously your insane charm and unbridled natural maternal instincts are finally getting the best of you," Dave offered nonchalantly. Rose glared at him, and he put his hands up defensively. "Or she's like four and you're warm and soft, what the fuck do I know." That said, he claimed a seat at one end of the table, cutting off any response Rose might have made.

Rose sniffed haughtily and swept around to the opposite side of the table from Dave, with John and Casey taking the seats next to her. Jade took the seat next to Dave, and Jane sat on her other side. When everyone was seated, Binam spoke a few words for the meal and Jude poured the water for everyone, passing the cups down from his end of the table. The first sip was taken, and then the feeding frenzy began.

"So, you two are Mobiles, huh?" Binam asked as he ladled out soup for Sebastian. "How'd you get into that line of work?"

Dave, who'd been slurping down his soup like someone was going to take it from him, swallowed his mouthful and said, "We were captured by space banditos when we were real little. They were gonna sell us off at first, but Rose," he gestured at her with his spoon, "suckered their leader into a game of wits. It was this real close thing, everyone was on the edge of their seats, but the bandito leader won out in the end."

Dave paused for another mouthful of soup. Jade took advantage of the pause to look at the rest of the table. Most of the family was only paying enough attention to be polite, but John seemed totally engrossed by his story. Jade was practically on the edge of her seat, too, even if it was obviously super fake. After he swallowed his soup, Dave flicked his shirt, like he was getting some imaginary dirt off of it and said, "Even though she lost, Rose really impressed him, and he thought I was pretty fly too, so he kept us on. We spent a few years flying the galaxies with those guys, until we were attacked by space whales -"

"We joined about ten years ago," Rose cut his epic story short. Jade could understand why - he didn't seem like he was going to stop any time soon - but it was still a little disappointing. "Relatively, of course."

"Oh yeah?" Jane said as she passed the loaf of bread to Jade. "What made you want to do something like that?"

"The usual: seeing the universe, experiencing new cultures, that sort of thing," Rose said easily, like she'd said the same thing a hundred times before. "I'd really like to hear more about your lives. Do all of you work on the farm?"

Jake roared with laughter. "Don't have much of a choice about that! Running a farm is work worth its salt, and we need all the hands we've got." He clapped Jude on the shoulder. "We raised a good set of children here, though, and they're working hard on the next generation." He gave Jade and John a sideways look. "Most of them are, at least."

John and Jade both rolled their eyes. "It's not our fault all the Evening men and women around are too young or taken already," John complained.

"What about that nice woman from the Tenian farmholding?" Liza asked. "You dated her for a long time."

"Not that long," Jade argued. "And I couldn't stand her. She was so full of herself, ugh!"

John frowned across the table at Jade. "Hey, she wasn't that bad. She was a little rough on strangers, but once you got to know her -"

"John, do you even remember why you're not dating her anymore?"

He thought for a moment, then smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah, she ran off with that lady from Frobus, didn't she?"

Jude looked up suddenly from his soup. "Wait, really? I thought she was on another planet?"

"You always think someone's gone off-planet if you don't see them every week," Lynae teased him.

He flushed. "Well, it happened once!"

"Yeah, once," Joey jumped in. "When we were like five."

The other side of the table continued in that vein, the Second and First Sedoretus teasing and reminiscing in equal measure. Jade turned to find Rose and John discussing the Discussions. John's eyes were bright with joy, and his hands were flying all over the place. Rose looked more subdued but just as engaged, with a question on her lips every time John stopped to take a breath.

Jade grinned, glad to see her brother with an engaged audience for once. Their family wasn't blasphemous or anything, but no one was as invested in religion as John was, and it wore on him a little. Their religion required conversation, and everyone else was more interested in talking about what sort of crops they should be growing next season.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jade saw Dave giving Rose the same kind of look she'd been giving John. "She really loves her job, doesn't she?" Jade asked him quietly.

Dave twitched, a motion that probably would have been a full jump from anyone else. He turned to her and said in a low voice, "Yeah, Rose loves the whole Mobile thing." He shrugged. "I don't really get it. But, hey, it's something to do with my life, I guess." He flashed Jade a small smile. "Can't get by on just my pretty face forever."

Jade grinned. "I dunno, you've got a very pretty face," she whispered. Dave snorted and turned back to watching Rose and John talking, a smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

Rose opened the door to their temporary domicile and gestured for Dave to enter first. He did so, responding to her gallantry with a bowed head. Once inside, he collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to remove his shoes. "That was fucking exhausting," he said, his voice low and rough.

"Indeed," Rose agreed as she closed the door and sat heavily on her own bed. "I didn't realize families on this planet were so... extensive."

Dave snorted. "I think you mean fucking huge, like holy shit. Kids kept coming out of nowhere, like the most terrifying clown car in existence."

Rose thought of little Casey pulling Vomu out of a tiny car and laughed to herself. _Scary like a pack of puppies, perhaps._ Dave was just as scared of puppies as he was of children, though, so she didn't bother sharing her observation.

Dave continued, "But seriously, I can't believe they go out and work in those fields all day, come in and eat a plain meal like that, and still have the energy to do all that talking afterward. It's so fucking weird how all those couples still live together, too. I thought our family was crazy." He sat up and looked at Rose. "Oh, hey, should we give Mom a call, let her know we landed safe? She's probably been a nervous wreck the last twelve years, thinking about the space icebergs and shit we could've run into."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because our mother was always the fretting, hovering type."

"When she wasn't obsessed with her experiments, yeah." He flopped backwards again. "But hey, it's been twelve years, one day shouldn't matter." Silence fell over the room for a few moments until Dave sat up again. "Okay, I'm like three seconds from La-La land. Don't peek while I'm changing, okay? Keep your perverted eyes off me."

"Your virile manly physique is safe from my gaze," Rose vowed, the familiar joke passing from her lips easily. As Dave shuffled around, working through his nightly rituals, Rose thought about the Prospit farmholding family. She remembered Paul cooing over Liv in Joey's arms, a proud father and mother watching over their child. She also remembered Jude pulling Paul away at the end of the meal with a rather unchaste expression, and Joey passing Liv off on Lynae to pull Liza into an impromptu dance, deep love evident in both their eyes.

Most of all, though, she remembered Jade's infectious grin, John's excited chatter, and the way her stomach hadn't stopped swooping the entire night.

* * *

_Summer_

John stuck the posthole digger into the ground and rolled his neck, tired of looking down. The sun was high overhead, with only a few clouds in the sky to promise some form of shade. He looked out over the fields, watching the yama frolic in their current pasture. He and Jade were working on fencing in a new field for them. "How long are we making this fence, anyway?"

Jade looked up from her notebook, where she kept her calculations, drawings, and other things necessary for the farm's upkeep. "About... twenty meters?" She pointed at a rock clump nearby. "We have to go around that boulder so we can make the post holes deep enough, and then we can start curving back in."

John groaned. "Why are we expanding, anyway? It's hard enough to take care of things as it is."

"That's what people do, John," Jade said. "We keep moving forward and getting bigger until we get too big to keep going, and then we stay as big as we can possibly get. That's how we made it to the stars, after all." She gave John a mischievous grin. "Besides, digging holes is fun, right?"

John scoffed, but before he could say something in response, a familiar voice piped in. "Damn straight. A hole-digging party is objectively the best kind of party there is." John turned to find Dave leaning nonchalantly against a fence post they'd erected earlier.

"Oh, hi Dave!" John said as Jade waved excitedly. "Haven't seen you for a few days!" After their dinner a few weeks ago, John and Jade had seen both Dave and Rose during their occasional trips to the Center. Neither of the off-worlders had been back to the farm yet, though.

Dave shrugged. "You know how it is. Everyone and their mother is wanting a piece of this action, and I'm not one to disappoint." His gaze shifted to the ground in front of John, where his posthole digger was still stuck. "So, what are you up to, anyway? Some kinda bizarre fertility ritual?"

John blushed, but Jade just laughed and said, "Nope! Just building a new fence. No secret rituals here!"

"Aw, why you gotta break my heart like that. I'm crushed right into the ground here. Soon I'll be part of the grass that your little yama things eat, and when their wool grows in it'll be in the shape of my weeping face, still emotionally destroyed after the epic pain you have caused me here." Dave delivered his entire speech completely deadpan, his face almost unnaturally blank.

John and Jade shared a quick look, both trying to keep a straight face. John was doing better than his sister, but not by much. Stifling his laughter, he said. "Geez, that's a real shame, Dave. We were really starting to like you, too." Jade burst into outright laughter, but John powered through. "We should really have a funeral or something, send you off with honors. Maybe apologize for crushing you so thoroughly."

Dave shook his head. "Nah, just leave me here. I'm part of your farm now, forever and ever. Besides, Rose hates funerals." Abruptly Dave stopped talking and approached the posthole digger. "So what the fuck is this thing?"

John was thrown a little by the quick shift in conversation. He didn't know how to answer such an obvious question, either. "Uh... it's a posthole digger." Dave looked at him and he felt compelled to add, "For digging postholes."

John couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw the corner of Dave's mouth twitch. "Sure. Of course." He looked at the posthole digger again, poking at one of the handles. "So, what, you stick this in the ground, pull it back out, and shove a fence post in there? That doesn't seem too hard."

"It sounds easy when you say it like that, yeah," Jade said, frowning. "It's pretty tough work when you're actually doing it, though!"

Dave rubbed his hands together. "Well, let's just see how hard it really is, then." He grabbed hold of the digger's handles the wrong way, then looked up at John and Jade again. "You should probably stand back a bit, don't want you swooning right into the gigantic hole I'm about to make right here." John stepped back, his prankster's spirit compelling him to play along. Jade stayed where she was, with crossed arms and a sharp-eyed expression.

Dave took one deep breath, like he was psyching himself up. Then, he pulled up sharply. The digger slid out easily, which made Dave stagger backwards and almost fall flat on his butt. John snorted quietly, while Jade held back a vindictive grin. The ground the digger had been stuck into was a little disturbed, but there was definitely no hole.

Now that it was out of the ground, Dave studied the tool more closely. After a few minutes of inspection, he tried to stick it back where it had been. He used too little strength and his angle was off, though, so the digger simply skimmed the surface of the ground. He gave it a couple more tries before he finally figured out how to push it in properly. The posthole digger was still at a slight angle and it wasn't nearly deep enough, but John didn't want to correct him. It was much funnier to watch him struggle, after all. Besides, he was grateful for the rest.

Dave took a little break once he had the digger in the ground again. He didn't rest for that long, though - just enough to get his breath back after his prolonged battle with the earth. He approached the posthole digger, his entire body tense with determination. He squeezed the handles together this time, his hands still in the wrong position, and pulled straight up.

This time, several clumps of dirt flew into the air with his motion. "Ha!" Dave shouted triumphantly, his face alight with a huge victorious grin. When he looked at the ground, though, his face fell. While some dirt had definitely been displaced, it wasn't so much a hole as it was a dent, like someone had caught their boot the wrong way. It looked nothing like the holes the other fence posts were set in.

Dave dropped the posthole digger and sat back on his hands heavily, his shades sliding down his nose. For the first time, John saw his eyes - a brilliant, unnatural shade of red. He recoiled a little, instinctively afraid of those burning eyes.

If Jade noticed his eye color, she didn't seem to care. She stood over Dave with her hands on her hips. "Well? I don't see any giant hole for me to swoon into."

Dave looked up at her, exhaustion written all over his face. "Shit, the only hole around here is this asshole." He pointed his thumb as his chest. "That is so fucking hard, I dunno how you guys can do that all day long."

Jade considered him a moment longer, then offered him her hand. He took her hand and pulled himself to his feet. "It helps when you don't hold it the wrong way!" She passed her notebook to John and picked up the posthole digger. "Here, like this." Jade quickly shoved the digger straight down into the ground, squeezed the handles together, gave it a sharp twist, and pulled it back out, revealing a nearly perfect new hole in the ground.

Dave stared, eyes wide open. "Shit, that was awesome! Damn, now I feel really stupid. How did you do that?"

Jade led Dave forward to the next spot they needed to dig a hole at before John could mention his newfound unease with the foreigner. Frowning, he watched as Jade coached Dave through all the steps to get the best result out of the digger. When he finally got it right, both Dave and Jade shouted in triumph.

John smiled too, to his own surprise. He knew Dave's eyes were unnatural, but it was hard to think anything bad about the guy when he got so excited over a little thing like digging a hole. _His eyes probably aren't a sign of anything,_ John tried to convince himself as he set his fence post upright in the hole. _Besides, he's digging my holes for me. Can't complain about that!_

* * *

_Autumn_

Jade looked over her notes, which were spread across the dining room table. The expanded field project they'd been working on for months had been completed just in time to help the yama fatten up for winter, with all that new grass for them to devour, but now they were losing some to predators as they strayed out of view. She sighed. _Really wish I could rig up a more aggressive barrier, with lasers or something,_ she thought. Immediately after, she chastised herself for thinking it. _We're doing just fine without that kind of technology, and I can figure out how to protect our herds without falling back on bad habits._ As much as she loved scientific endeavors, she knew as well as any ki'O what happened when those endeavors were unchecked. Still, knowing the risks didn't make her task any easier. She tried to think of something new they could do to discourage predators.

As she thought, a hand tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Eep!" Jade yelped and turned quickly. Rose stood there, her hand still reaching out. "Sorry," she said, obviously amused at Jade's reaction, "I didn't think you would be that surprised at my presence."

Jade batted Rose's hand away jokingly. "You need to start making some noise when you walk around these parts. Maybe I'll get a bell for you to wear." She patted the bench, "Well, sit down! My neck's stiff enough already without having to stare up at you."

"Oh? Perhaps I could give you a massage, then," Rose offered as she slid smoothly onto the bench. She'd made many such visits over the last few months, discussing the minutiae of running a farm with Jade or trading stories with John.

Jade laughed. "I'd love that, but I'd just be aching again in a few hours, and it would be even worse knowing how good not being in pain feels."

"Fair enough," Rose said easily. "So, what dilemma are you wrestling with today?"

"Oh, I'm trying to figure out how to protect our yama from predators in the new field," Jade said, her mind already returning to the task. "I've thought of a lot of things we can't do, but not very many we can."

"What are the unusable ideas like?" Rose asked.

Jade smiled sheepishly. "They range from rigging an electrical charge through the entire fence to teaching the yama martial arts." 

Rose's eyes lit up, the way they always did when they were joking around. "Well, I think they would certainly benefit from that kind of training. Self defense is a useful skill for any creature."

"Yeah, but I'd have to learn myself first, and nobody in the area knows anything about it, I think. At least, nothing formal enough to make lessons out of."

"Oh, yes, that would be a problem, then." Rose switched from smiling to looking thoughtful. "I know this must sound ignorant of me after all these months, but why is the first option out of the question? You use electricity in your homes, after all."

Jade didn't answer right away. The matter deserved full thought before trying to explain it to Rose. When she had her reasons mostly hammered out, she said, "It's kinda complicated. We refrain from using technology for a reason, you know? It's not like we think technology is intrinsically a bad thing. If we did, we wouldn't have the university after all." Jade paused, trying to figure out how to phrase the next part properly. "The reason we avoid using technology to fix all our problems is that we know the damage that can be done if that kind of recklessness isn't restrained somehow. Do you get what I mean?"

"Hm... I understand the concept, I think, but I'm afraid I still don't quite get the connection."

"Um..." Jade tapped the table, trying to get her thoughts in order. "Okay, it's like... if we made our fences electric, the animals around here would get used to that, and then we'd have to think of something even bigger to scare them off. It's the same with people - once we let ourselves use technology for something, we forget how not to use it, and it gets really dangerous really fast."

Rose took in Jade's words and gave them serious thought. Finally, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I think I'm just too mired in my own cultural background to truly understand that point of view." Then, she smiled. "In fact, there's a great many things about your culture I could use more information on."

"Oh really? Like what?"

Rose smiled wider and slid a little closer to Jade. "I'd like to hear more about your marriages, for instance. How on earth do those get formed?"

"The sedoretus?" Jade laughed. "It's not easy! A lot of the older folks try to work them out whenever they get a free moment. That's how the Second Sedoretu here was formed - Paul and Joey and Jude are all descended from the First Sedoretu, but Elizabeth grew up on the Yorkin farmholding east of here. Jake heard from one of the elders in town that she was free, told the others about it, and they invited Elizabeth to move here and marry them."

"I didn't know it was an arranged marriage. That's quite interesting." Rose leaned in a little closer. "How is it you and John haven't formed one, then?"

Jade laughed again, a little uneasily this time. "They've tried, but, well, we haven't found anyone both of us really... get along with, you know? Well, okay," Jade reconsidered, "there was this one boy we both liked, but we couldn't find a fourth and he ended up joining another sedoretu in the end." She shrugged. "We've been so busy, we just haven't had the time to date anyone recently."

Rose looked curious. "How does dating work? Do all four partners have to go out together at once, or -"

"Oh, no no no!" Jade waved her hands wildly. "Geez, that would just be way too hard to work out! No, usually we just date one person for a while, then that couple tries to find another couple that works well together. John and I are a little weird, since we know we want to be part of the same sedoretu, but we still choose our own dates. We only talk about it when it starts getting serious."

"I see," Rose said, nodding sagely. "And what sort of... _activities_ do these dates entail?" She placed just enough emphasis on her words to turn them into an innuendo, making her waggling eyebrows purely a bonus.

Jade bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh at Rose's ridiculous expression. "Nothing that exciting - we go for walks in the woods, hang out by the Center, talk about things."

"So... like what we're doing now?" Rose's hand strayed closer to Jade's.

A blush started to creep along Jade's cheeks and ears. "Yeah, a little like this," she said as she took hold of Rose's hand.

Rose's face seemed calm, but Jade could feel her pulse racing. "Is there anything else you do on these dates?" Rose asked, her voice dropping to an intimate volume.

Jade answered, in a matching tone, "We do lots of things on dates. You'll have to be more specific."

Rose looked as though she was considering her options. Finally, she said, "Well, in my culture, if both people are comfortable with it, we do this..." She leaned in, her face coming within centimeters to Jade's. Rose paused and looked into Jade's eyes, as though waiting for permission to continue. Jade nodded, her heart almost jumping out of her chest, and Rose closed the gap, covering Jade's lips with her own.

They stayed connected for a moment or two, Jade trying to process the alien gesture. Too soon, Rose pulled back, her face almost unnaturally calm, as though preparing herself for some disastrous consequence. Jade smiled happily at her, though, and Rose's face softened into a smile of its own. "Well?" Rose asked, her breath obviously affected despite how brief the contact had been. "Is kissing a normal component of your dates?"

Jade chuckled, squeezing Rose's hand. "Well, we do kiss, but not like that."

Rose's face gained an academic curiosity, though it lost none of its warmth. "Really? Well, please show me. I much prefer hands-on demonstrations of cultural differences, after all."

Jade laughed at Rose's pun, her head dizzy and light with emotions. She carefully lifted one hand to Rose's cheek, pausing just before contact like the other woman had. When Rose nodded slightly, Jade caressed Rose's cheek, trying to ignore her pounding heart.

After a few moments, Jade moved to pull her hand away, but Rose placed her free hand lightly on top, keeping it in place and throwing Jade's entire face aflame. Still staring into Jade's eyes, Rose said, "There are definite benefits to this type of kissing. Being able to talk to your partner, for example."

"Y-yeah," Jade stuttered, distracted by the feeling of Rose's soft skin, and the contrast between her golden brown and Jade's dark sepia skin.

"And is this strictly a cross-moiety activity, or is it acceptable within moieties as well?"

"I..." An unbidden image leapt to Jade's mind of John sitting in front of her instead of Rose, and she instantly recoiled, pulling her hand from Rose's cheek. "Ugh, no, no no no no no!" Jade squeezed her eyes shut and tried to banish the picture from her mind. "Oh geez, so gross, ugh!"

When she opened her eyes again, Rose was still sitting next to her, though she'd pulled back a bit. "I suppose that's that, then," she said, her voice a little too calm.

Jade was confused until she realized what her reaction must have felt like to Rose. "Oh, no, that wasn't about you, Rose!" She squeezed Rose's hand in her bid for sincerity. "Really, kissing you is super nice! But that is definitely not something you do with your own moiety. Like, at all. Ever."

Rose nodded, some of the warmth returning to her face, but she still seemed preoccupied with something. Jade squeezed her hand gently again, causing Rose to smile and squeeze back. She took a deep breath before asking, "And what about those who don't have moieties? What should you do with them?"

Jade's brain froze, trying to process the impossible idea of not having a moiety. "That's..." She paused, then forced herself to think about it logically, not just going with her gut reaction. "Okay, I don't personally know anyone who's, um... had a relationship with an off-worlder, but it's definitely happened! So there has to be, like, a procedure or something."

Rose's brow furrowed. "A procedure?"

"For figuring out an off-worlder's moiety," Jade stated.

"Oh." Rose nodded as though she understood, but her face still seemed troubled. She looked past Jade at something. "Oh, it's gotten later than I thought!" She stood up, pulling her hand from Jade's grasp. "Sorry, I have to go. Dave and I have a deadline to meet tonight."

"Oh, okay," Jade said, a little sadly.

Rose hesitated, then reached up and caressed Jade's cheek lightly. Her hand was gone almost as soon as it touched Jade's skin, but her cheek still burned with its warmth. Rose looked like she wanted to say something more, but after a moment she turned and walked away without saying a thing.

Jade watched her go, then turned back to her notes. She knew she wouldn't really get any work done, but she had to try. There were still yama to protect, after all.

* * *

Dave flipped through his notes in the suite, trying to figure out how to write "So far I've dicked around a farm and mingled with two very hot locals" in an academic way. The last time he'd sent a report in his own words, they'd threatened to withhold his luggage on his next trip. He didn't know how serious they were, but it wasn't exactly the kind of thing he wanted to test.

He was still considering whether the word "bootylicious" was too risqué when Rose entered. "Hey," he greeted her, mind still on his report. When she said nothing in response, he turned to find her sitting on her bed with her back to the wall and her knees curled up to her chest. Her eyes were staring straight through the ground, like she was a hundred miles away from here. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hm?" Rose looked up and met his eyes. "Oh, nothing, I'm just thinking."

Dave raised his eyebrow. "Right. That is not your thinking face. That is your internal freak-out face. So, I repeat: what's up?"

Rose sighed. "We have been traveling together entirely too long." She shifted into a cross-legged position and wove her fingers together on her lap. "I was just thinking about... cultural expectations and limitations, I suppose."

"Right, cuz something that dry is definitely what's got you freaking out," Dave deadpanned. "Spill the actual story, Rose, because I'm not sitting through an hour-long philosophical jaunt that will bore the shit out of me and answer exactly zero of my questions."

Rose frowned. "It's not entirely unrelated, I'll have you know. But, fine, I suppose I can start with the specifics and build to the general quandary." She paused, looking for the right place to start her story. "I was just visiting Jade, discussing... certain cultural rituals -"

"You were flirting outrageously," Dave interrupted, familiar with Rose's preferred style of courting. "It's cool, you don't gotta act like you're writing a report here. You can be honest. This here is a safe space."

Rose glared at him. "Pardon me for attempting to keep a little decorum." She took a deep breath, recentering herself. "So, I was _discussing cultural rituals_ with Jade, with a few practical demonstrations of differences between our respective gestures -"

"Hold up," Dave interrupted again. "I've gotta translate from Roseian to normal here. You were flirting with Jade and, what, she flirted back?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "We kissed, Dave. That's what happened. Jade and I kissed. Several times, in fact."

Dave's stomach plummeted. "Oh. Yeah, okay, that's cool. I mean, she's pretty awesome, so I understand why you'd be into her. Didn't know she was into you, though." Dave turned back to his desk, desperate to leave the conversation where it was. "That's a pretty legit thing to freak out about, I guess. Thanks for sharing."

"Dave, don't be an ass," Rose said in exasperation. "That's not what I was freaking out about. It was related, but the kissing itself was just... very nice."

Dave looked at Rose out of the corner of his eye, his body still angled towards his desk. Rose was smiling and blushing a little, looking off at nothing again. His stomach dropped a second time, and he resolutely turned back to his notes. _Get over yourself, dude,_ he lectured himself. _Not the first time Rose's gotten the girl before you could, won't be the last._ He swallowed down the bitterness and tried to focus on his report again.

Shuffling sounds from behind told him Rose had gotten off her bed, and soon she was placing a hand on Dave's shoulder. "Dave," she said, voice full of concern, "is something bothering you?"

"Nope," he lied uselessly. "Everything's cool in Casa Dave. Just gotta get this report sent off lickedy-split with the deadline and all, you know how it is."

"Dave." That was her serious voice, which meant there'd be no more dodging on her end and there'd better not be any on his. "Are you mad I didn't tell you I was interested in Jade?"

Sensing there was no avoiding this conversation, Dave swung around to face Rose. "Look, she's really great, and if you make her happy, that's great too. You guys can run off and start a lady farming commune together, with cats and yama and all that shit. I'll be fine. Maybe me and John will start a bro farm, put 'no girls allowed' signs up everywhere. Make it a righteous fort of dudeitude. Whatever. It's cool."

Dave expected Rose to look concerned or sympathetic, but she just looked confused. "Jade and I won't be running off alone, Dave. That's not how things work here." She tilted her head a little, brows furrowed in suspicion. "You understand how sedoretus work, don't you, Dave?"

"What, the weird couples thing?" The abrupt shift in conversation threw Dave off. "Kinda, yeah. What's that got to do with you and Jade shacking up together?"

Rose sat back on her bed and massaged her forehead. "I cannot believe you've been here for months and you still don't understand sedoretus."

Dave scowled. "Hey, I understand them fine. Two people get married and another two people get married, and then the four of them live together and raise their kids together for some reason. Totally makes sense in a weird alien way."

With every indignant word, Rose's head slid further and further into her hands. When he was done talking, she stayed still for a few seconds before she finally lifted her head and said, "It's not two couples, Dave. It's four. Sedoretus are made of four couples."

Dave's mind ground to a halt. "Four?"

"Yes, Dave. Four." Her tone was gently insistent, like she was explaining the benefits of bathing to a five year old. "Both of the Morning individuals are married to both of the Evening ones."

Dave re-examined his memories of hanging out on the Prospit farmholding. With the sedoretu laid out explicitly for him, the whole thing seemed so obvious in retrospect. "Shit," he said, covering his face with his hands, "I'm just the hugest fucking moron in existence."

"I don't think I'll argue with you on that one," Rose said wryly.

"Shut up," Dave fired back.

"Ah, the wittiest of comebacks! I am staggered," Rose returned. That prompted Dave to flip her off, which Rose just laughed at.

The normal routine helped calm Dave down, letting him consider the situation again. "Okay, now that I'm done being a pissbaby. What freaked you out about kissing Jade?"

Rose's smile smoothed out. "I told you, it wasn't about -"

"Fuck, whatever, just tell me what's got you bugged." Dave leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable again. "I'll actually listen this time instead of being a whiny fucking idiot."

Rose sucked her cheeks in nervously. "Okay. So, you understand how important moieties are to ki'O, correct?"

"Yeah, I got that much at least," Dave said. "I'm not a complete dumbfuck, recent evidence aside."

"Right. So, having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite moiety is expected, and having a sexual relationship with someone of the same moiety is incredibly taboo."

Dave could see where she was going with that line of thought. "But you and me don't have moieties, so how do we fit in - that's what you're caught up on, right?"

"Essentially, yes." Rose scooted back on her bed, drawing her knees up again. "I really like Jade, and John, but how can we ask them to look past such a huge cultural gap? Besides, I don't know if I'm ready to stop being a Mobile just yet. We've seen so much of what humanity has to offer, but there's still so much out there, and I don't want to settle down when -"

Dave leaned forward. "Okay, I think you need to calm the fuck down. Let's knock stuff down one at a time. One, we've had a good run as Mobiles, but we are not even talking about marriage here. We are thinking about dating them for a little while, and that's it. No need to get the wedding dresses yet, even if I will look so totally hot in mine."

Rose laughed, her breath still a little erratic. "Right, yes, that makes sense."

"Glad you agree. Two, did you actually talk to Jade about the moiety thing at all? Or did you just flip out and run away?"

"There was a little more running than talking, I'll admit," Rose said sardonically.

Dave smiled - he knew her too well. "Yeah, I figured as much. So, we'll sit down with John and Jade, have a good honest conversation where we tear our chests open and slap our hearts right down on the table, and we'll see where things go from there."

They were both silent for a moment before Rose said, "You realize that's practically impossible for us."

"Yup," Dave said. "We are totally fucked."

* * *

"John? Can we talk?"

John looked up from where he was reading in bed to see Jade standing in his doorway. "Sure," he said, gesturing to his chair as he sat up. "What's up?"

Jade sat with her hands on her knees. She asked, "John, how wrong would it be to date someone without a moiety?"

"Uh..." None of the books he'd studied had had anything to say on that matter. That wasn't even a question that could have been raised. "Pretty wrong, I guess? I don't know, the question itself doesn't make any sense, Jade. Everyone has a moiety."

Jade frowned. "So, what, Rose and Dave don't exist all of a sudden?"

John froze. "I mean - That's, that's different because..." Dave and Rose didn't have moieties. Dating Dave and Rose would be very nice. John had never put those thoughts together, but now he suddenly was and the thoughts were spiraling against each other, pulling him down with them. He slowly started curling forward as each thought worked its way through his mind. All this time, he'd been treating Rose and Dave like they were sheltered ki'O from very far away, somehow ignorant of a lot of very important things but still fundamentally like him. They weren't, though. "Oh geez, they - they don't have - they're not - they, they, they - "

"John!" Jade kneeled in front of him, her face directly in his line of sight. "It's okay, John, just breathe and listen to me." John nodded and breathed in as deeply as he could. As he focused on that, Jade continued, "What are you thinking, John? Why are you scared?"

John breathed in and out, trying to keep calm enough to answer Jade's question. "If they don't - if they - they're not like us, they, they..." His brain started overrunning his mouth again.

"Shhhh," Jade murmured. "They're not that different from us, John. Remember how Dave looked up when he kept fucking up with the posthole digger a few months ago?"

John laughed a little hysterically when he remembered the look on Dave's face. "Yeah, that was..." The memory of Dave's eyes threw off his breathing again, though.

"Whoa, okay, breathe," Jade crooned, the same way she spoke to balking yama during shearing season. "What's wrong now?"

John got his breath under enough control to say, "His... his eyes, they're..."

Jade rubbed his knees. "Shhh, shhh, shhh, it's okay, John. Their eyes are a little weird, but that's okay, right? It's like that time Jane turned Lynae's hair bright blue - she looked kinda scary, but she was still Lynae, right?"

John nodded. "Y-yeah, she was, was still Lynae..." His thoughts finally had an anchor, something he could hold onto instead of the crazy mishmash of thoughts that just kept chasing each other around and around. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal.

Jade stayed where she was as John calmed down. "Better?" she asked when he'd been breathing normally for a few minutes.

"Yeah, I'm okay now," John replied.

"Good." She shifted from kneeling to sitting. "So how long you have been freaking out about the eye color thing?"

John shrugged self-consciously. "I wasn't freaking out about it..."

"Just not thinking about it." Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm just glad you didn't have that meltdown in front of those two. I don't think they would've taken it very well."

"Yeah..." John slumped forward, leaning on his knees. "I just don't get it. I can't imagine not having a moiety. Can you?"

Jade shrugged. "Not really, but do you really have to imagine it? I mean, they're the same people no matter what, right?"

"Yeah, but -"

"No buts! Rose and Dave are still Rose and Dave. Got it?" Jade waggled her finger at John, the almost-perfect image of their otherfather Jake.

John giggled and said, "Yes, okay, Rose and Dave are still Rose and Dave."

Jade smiled. "Great! I'm glad that's settled, then."

John leaned back, regaining his sober expression. "But Jade, I'm still... I dunno, is it wrong to ignore something like that?"

"You're the scholar in training here, not me," Jade reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, surprisingly enough, studying this stuff doesn't give you all the answers. They're called the Discussions, not, like, The Complete Guide to Living Life Good."

"Okay, yeah, that's fair." Jade thought it over for a few moments. "I don't feel like it is? Or it shouldn't be, at least. They don't share our moiety, so it's fine, right?"

"That's... huh." John thought through what he'd studied, trying to see any flaw in Jade's logic. "... You're not wrong, but I feel like it shouldn't work like that."

Jade laughed. "Hey, maybe I should read some more on the Discussions, it sounds like I've got a knack for it!"

John leaned off the bed and swatted at her head lightly. She batted his hand aside, still laughing. He tried to get her again, and things devolved into a classic sibling slap fight for a few minutes, both of them laughing their asses off. When they were both tired of that, they sat on John's floor and got their breath back. Just then, a thought occurred to John. "Hey, why were you asking about that, anyway? Did something happen earlier when Rose was here?"

Jade's eyes instantly shifted away from John and red crept from her ears down across her face. "Oh, uh... We were talking about sedoretus and dating and... um..." Jade swallowed nervously. "We might have kissed a little?"

A smile tried to grow on John's face, but he kept it down. "You might have kissed?"

Jade started fighting a smile, too. "Maybe. That might have happened. Once or twice." She thought about it for a second. "Three times, actually, but that was one of her kinds of kisses."

"Her kinds? What, they don't kiss like us, either?" John tried to imagine what sort of bizarre things other peoples did instead of regular kissing.

"No, they do this lip thing. It's kinda weird. Nice, but weird." Jade suddenly shook her head and stood up. "Hey, looks like it's time for me to get some sleep. Lots to do tomorrow. Good night, John!" She raced out of the room.

"Jade!" John got up and started chasing her. "You can't just tell me something like that and run away! I need more details! Come on!" Jade laughed loudly, heedless of the others trying to sleep around them, as John chased her down the hallway yelling uselessly.

* * *

Rose gave Dave one last look, her hand ready to open the gate that would let them onto Prospit territory. "Do you really think we're ready to try this whole honesty thing?"

Dave shrugged, hiding his worried eyes behind his shades. "Can't be worse than the other shit we've been through, right?"

Rose seriously considered arguing against that, but it wasn't an argument she wanted to win. Ignoring her natural panic trying to convince her to run now while she still had the chance, she opened the gate and walked inside, Dave following behind her.

The siblings walked through the farm, trying to find John and Jade. When they reached the vegetable plots, they found the farmers harvesting the early fall crops. Joey, Elizabeth, and Paul were there as well, preparing the crops for winter.

Dave gave Rose a panicked look, one she agreed with - this was definitely not a conversation they could have with spectators around. "Jade? John?" Rose called out to the pair from the end of the row they were working on. When they looked up, she asked, "Would you be able to join Dave and I on a short walk?"

Jade looked at Joey, who gave a short nod. "Yeah, we can take a break for a while," Jade said as she brushed her hands off. She and John joined Dave and Rose, and the four walked away as Joey took over where they'd left off.

Once they were out of earshot, John jumped ahead of the group and started walking backwards. "So, where'd you wanna walk? There's plenty of places on the farm, or the woods are pretty this time of year."

"We haven't been through any part of the woods off the beaten path," Rose said, conscious of the privacy she and Dave needed to even consider talking about their emotions. "Why don't you two lead us through there?"

Jade clapped. "Oh, I know the perfect spot! The boulder clearing, remember?" That last part was directed at John.

John looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on his face. "Oh yeah, that spot's great! Good idea, Jade."

"Yeah, cool, rocks are awesome," Dave chimed in as they walked through the Prospit farmholding. "Especially if they're like big, grey, and round. Those rocks? Those are the shit."

"Yes, we've been remiss in our geological education here," Rose said. "Stories of this boulder shall be the keystone of our next report."

John laughed in appreciation at her pun, but he seemed to be at least attempting seriousness when he said, "It doesn't sound like much, but this is no ordinary boulder!"

Jade, on the other hand, was making no effort to hide her grin. As she opened the front gate, she said, "You guys have no idea just how cool this rock is, seriously."

Dave stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to exude nonchalance. "We've seen some pretty sweet rocks in our time, not gonna lie." Rose gave him a sharp look, treading close as he was to sensitive topics. He gave her a miniscule shrug, reminding her they weren't supposed to be avoiding anything. She conceded with a small tilt of her head, trying to ignore how her arms were tensing up.

Something grazed against her right hand, and she instinctively flinched away before realizing it was just Jade brushing against her fingers. The other woman gave her a reassuring smile, one that Rose shakily returned. _She can tell how nervous I am - I must be losing my touch,_ Rose briefly thought. Still, there were worse things she could think of than a person like Jade being able to read her. She brushed against Jade's hand in thanks.

John and Dave were still praising rocks, pitting the recreational prankster against a professional bullshitter. "This boulder is really one of our world's greatest treasures, you know," John said, still walking backwards. He obviously did that often, as he managed to avoid tripping even though they were now hiking away from the common path. "Your time here will really be enriched by this experience."

"Big words from the backwoods farmer," Dave retorted.

"He's studied more than you have," Rose countered. "Or are my memories of training together failing me?"

Dave gave her a sidelong glance. "Look, if they could've convinced me all that training would actually help, I would've done my own work. They didn't bother, so neither did I."

"What was it like?" Jade blurted out, innocent curiosity tinted with a hint of longing. John also looked like he wanted to know.

Dave and Rose shared a small glance. "Honestly? Very boring, I'm afraid," Rose answered. "A few classes on cultural sensitivity, which Dave obviously skipped - "

"You don't need sensitivity when you're this hot," Dave cut in.

" - A course or two on intergalactic travel, and we were deemed ready to explore the universe on the Ekumen's dime. Nothing all that exciting in the end." Rose hesitated, then added, "Our time here has been more interesting, by far."

John smiled brilliantly, and Jade brushed her hand again, and Rose felt her heart was trying to beat its way out of her ribcage. John said simply, "We try," and no one spoke after that until they reached the clearing a few minutes later.

The clearing itself was simple, picturesque if one was in a poetic mood. There was nothing of particular note about it except the celebrated boulder. Tempered as she had been by John's jokes on the subject, Rose had been expecting just another rock, perhaps one that was slightly larger than most others. Reality was much more spectacular.

The boulder was almost like a small hill unto itself, it was that large. It had been shaped, by what seemed like natural means, into the bizarre shape of a small cottage, complete with windows and a small chimney on top. Dave walked up to it and shoved at it, like he couldn't believe it was real. The monstrous boulder rocked back very slightly, just enough to show it wasn't physically fused with the ground beneath.

Rose and Dave both gaped openly, practiced facades dropping away in the face of such absurdity. John and Jade had almost-matching grins, though Jade's tended towards simple joy while John's bordered on trickster gods levels of mischievousness. Rose brushed her fingers against the rock, almost believing her hand would go straight through, like a hologram. "How...?"

"Nobody knows..." John whispered in his best attempt at a scary voice.

"We found this place back when we were kids, and Jake told us it had been here since before he was born," Jade cut John off. "We get some very weird storms through here sometimes, with flooding and high winds, which must have carved the rock over time."

John pouted at her. "Jaaaade," he drawled, "I had this whole story planned out, with mysterious disappearances and a spooky death and everything!"

Jade sat on the ground, her back resting against a tree that had fallen close to the boulder. "Sorry, John, but I don't think now's the time for that. You can save it for the next time we're here, okay?"

John sighed. "It's not nearly as good the second time you see this thing," he complained, but he didn't push the matter any further. All of them could sense it was time to stop joking around.

Rose considered her options before deciding to sit on the same log Jade was using as a backrest. Dave leaned back against the stone cottage and crossed his arms. John remained standing, placing himself between the log and the boulder so they formed a rough circle of sorts. Dave and Rose shared a look, as did Jade and John. No one knew quite where to begin.

After the silence stretched on past awkward to sheer discomfort, Rose cleared her throat. "I suppose we could start by addressing the potentially mutual attraction?"

Dave groaned and John squirmed at the same time. "Shit, Rose, that was like the most fucking awkward way of putting it," her half-brother said.

"It is somewhere to start, though!" Jade said. "It's a pretty important thing to establish, too. I mean, I know I'd like to date you two, and I'm pretty sure Rose feels that way about me, but I don't really know that for sure."

Rose swallowed hard and struggled to speak past her racing heart. "Yes, I'd... I would be interested in the possibility of a relationship with you. Both of you." She looked down at her lap, unwilling to risk eye contact with anyone.

"I'd like that a lot, too," John piped up. "I mean, just hanging out has been fun. I think dating wouldn't be all that different, and it could be really great."

Dave exhaled sharply. "Yeah, okay, we are all some very sexy people who would be okay with strictly regulated macking. That's settled."

"Yes, it would have been a shame to go through the excruciatingly personal parts of the conversation only to find out we were all completely disinterested in each other," Rose said, looking up again.

John shifted from foot to foot. "Yeah, good thing we got that out of the way." He gave Jade a quick look. "So I guess this is the part where we say, um..."

Jade picked up where he'd left off. "We talked about it, and even though it's a little weird to us, we're okay with the whole non-moiety thing." She waggled a hand in the air. "Mostly okay, at least. There might be some backsliding."

"Totally unintentional and non-personal backsliding," John added. "Because you two are really great and don't deserve that."

Dave glanced at Rose, a little lost in the face of such honesty. Rose wasn't sure what to do with it, either - both of them had worried themselves sick about that cultural gap, and now it wasn't even a problem. It was like expecting a step and finding nothing was there. After a few moments, Rose found enough of her voice to say, "Thank you, that's... that's good to hear. We appreciate that," she finished lamely.

John started grinning uncontrollably. "You appreciate it? Really? Gee, that's super romantic, Rose, thanks," he teased.

A sharp retort rose quickly in Rose's mind, but she bit her tongue, trying to curb her defensive instincts. "John, don't be a jerk," Jade said instead. "They're trying their best."

"I understand, but also that sounded ridiculous," John said.

"That's how we roll," Dave spoke up. "Gotta get used to shit like that if we're moving forward on this thing. We deal in circles and spirals of ambiguous doublespeak specifically designed to fuck with the mind as much as possible. Cutting straight through a conversation like a warrior with an untested blade ain't exactly our style."

"... I think I heard something in there about trying this out," John said. "So? Are we doing this?"

Dave raised his eyebrow at Rose. "Yes," she said, speaking for both of them, "I believe we're all in agreement."

Jade jumped up from her seat to grab Rose in a surprisingly tight hug. Rose struggled to stay upright as Jade said, "Yes!!! This is going to be so great!" She pulled back a little to look Rose in the face. "Sorry, is this too much?"

Rose smiled an admittedly patronizing smile at Jade. "Well, we've already kissed, so I don't think I'd have much of a leg to stand on if I objected."

Jade frowned. "That's not true. If you don't want to do something, you just have to say so and we won't do it."

"Ah, I..." Flustered, Rose searched for the right words. "Thank you," she finally said, "but I really am fine with this." She reached her own arms around Jade's waist, as if to prove her point. Jade smiled, and Rose indulged herself in the private moment.

Dave's voice broke the moment soon enough, though. "Shit, John, we are really falling behind here. Quick, get over here and swoon into my arms, we've got a lot of catching up to do." Dave held his arms out like he was getting ready to catch a sack of flour, not a person.

John walked over to him, stroking his chin like he was pondering the grand mysteries of the universe. "Hm... I dunno, man, I don't think a simple swoon is gonna cut it. We've gotta go for something much bigger."

Jade shifted to sit in Rose's lap instead of awkwardly leaning over her. "Is this okay?" she asked. Rose nodded, still focused on the highly entertaining men in front of her.

Dave and John were now hashing out an epic story that would help them "catch up" to Rose and Jade. "Long lost heirs are totally the most dramatic, Dave. There's no way anything could beat that."

"That's got a nice flair to it, yeah, but it doesn't have much pizazz. Absolutely no razzle-dazzle, either, and that's just messed up. You can't have a dramatic romance like ours without any razzle-dazzle."

"Right, that would just be so wrong. What if we're both lost heirs of rivaling families?"

"Oh fuck yes, that is exactly the kind of shitty dramatic twist we need."

Rose turned to Jade, who was shaking with suppressed laughter. "I don't think they're going to be finished any time soon," Rose observed.

"Nope!" Jade agreed. "Any ideas on how to pass the time?"

"Oh, I've got a few..." Rose pulled Jade in, ignoring the cries of "Cheaters!" from John and Dave. There were more important things to focus on, after all.

* * *

_Winter_

Jade skipped down the hallway leading to Dave and Rose's room. Her farming duties had finished earlier than expected, so she was planning on seeing if either Dave or Rose was available for a quick date.

She reached their room and knocked on the closed door. "Dave? Rose? It's Jade!" She called through the door, too excited to wait for either of them to answer.

"Jade?" Dave's voice came from the other side. Soon enough the door was opened, and Dave was standing there. "Hey, uh, we weren't expecting you today."

"Things finished up at the farm earlier than I thought they would," she replied. She bounced on her heels a little. "Are either of you guys free right now?"

"Uh, actually... " Dave trailed off, scratching his neck uncomfortably. He sighed and stepped back into the room. "Come in, it'll be easier to explain when you're not hovering on the doorstep."

Jade stepped through, now intensely curious about what the siblings could be up to. She understood a little better when she saw Rose setting up a machine on Dave's desk. "Is that a portable ansible?"

Rose looked up and said, "Yes, it is. We have an appointment to call home today, and the university was kind enough to lend us this ansible instead of requiring us to use one of their stationary ones."

"Oh!" Jade stepped back a little. "Wow, so I guess neither of you would be free to come on a date with me, huh?"

Dave shrugged a little. "Yeah, that's the short version basically. Although... " He gave Rose a look that Jade couldn't quite interpret. Rose looked a little taken aback at Dave's look, but she soon nodded thoughtfully. He turned back to Jade and said, "Do you wanna stay here while we call them? It's not gonna be that long, so we should still be able to talk together or something afterwards."

Jade was surprised. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't talk about your family that much, and I'd be fine with coming back later or something - "

"No, please do stay," Rose interrupted. "It would be much easier for you to understand our family after a ten minute video than a thousand secondhand explanations from Dave or I."

"If you're both sure..." Jade looked back and forth between the two, making sure neither of them would change their minds and tell her to leave.

"Definitely sure. Sit. Stay." Dave pointed at his bed. Jade giggled and sat on his bed as directed. "Good girl."

Jade shifted on Dave's bed, trying to get comfortable. Rose and Dave were now both hunched over the portable ansible they'd borrowed, poking bits of the machine here and there. The temptation to join them and study the machine was strong, but Jade stayed where she was, not wanting to step on anyone's toes, figuratively speaking. Still, it was right there...

Dave cut off her internal debate by waving at her over his shoulder. "Jade, get over here before your brain melts. I can practically hear you overthinking shit."

Jade thought about objecting for just a moment, but her curiosity overruled everything else. She shuffled quickly off the bed and moved into the space Rose and Dave left for her.

The ansible looked like a pretty simple machine - a small screen on top for display, a keyboard on the bottom for input, and a couple of dials and buttons for adjusting coordinates. Rose was fiddling with one of those now, trying to hit upon the exact coordinates for the ansible on Hain that their family would soon be using.

"That should be it," Rose said after she tweaked the dial one last time. "Jade, would you like the honor of flipping the final switch?"

"Yeah, sure!" Jade eagerly reached out and flipped the switch that would start the transmission. Task completed, she backed away to sit on the bed again as Dave and Rose took their seats. The machine hummed and the screen flickered a few times before resolving into an image of a middle-aged man. "Oh, hey," he said calmly before yelling at someone off screen, "The call is live!"

"Already?" An unseen speaker answered. "I'm not ready yet, you talk to them."

Jade saw Rose roll her eyes slightly. "Mother never changes."

The man on the other side shrugged a little. "At this point, it would be more confusing if she did." His attention shifted to Dave. "Hey, bro."

Dave nodded at him. "Hey. Going bald yet?"

"No. I'm just gonna shave it all off when I turn sixty. Get the jump on old age before it can sneak up on me."

"That's a sound action plan," Rose said. "Old age is a wily foe."

"Right, gotta get ahead before you fall behind," Dave said, a hint of a challenge behind his words for some reason.

The man responded, "Gotta remember the fight's not all in the mind."

"Check your muscles before they fade away."

"Keep on working them every day.

"If you shit in your pants, no one else is to blame."

"Bowels trying to force you out of the game."

"Dick gets flaccid, limp, and weak."

"Never forget what you were like at your peak."

An older woman pushed the man out of frame. "Okay, you boys have had your fun, but that's enough of that."

"Shit, Mom, we were just getting to the heart of things," Dave said. Despite his words, his voice was the same as always. He didn't sound like he was complaining or whining at all. It reminded Jade of how he had acted back when she first met him. She hadn't realized just how much of that original persona he'd shed.

The woman - Dave and Rose's mother - tutted at him. "You spent ten minutes on your rap battle last time you called. I'm not sitting through that today, as sweet as those verses were." She turned her blazing smile on Rose. "Rose, honey! How are you? Are you keeping Dave out of trouble?"

Rose smiled politely. "Absolutely not."

"Good," she replied, "let him clean up his own messes."

Dave leaned back in his chair a little. "What, like I can't keep myself out of trouble?"

"You don't have a particularly good track record on that front," Rose replied. "I seem to recall some mysteriously disappearing apple juice - "

"I have matured since then. Bringing up shit from way back whenever is seriously bad form, Rose. You should know better."

"Yup, I'm afraid I'm going to have to throw a yellow flag on that play, Rose," their mother said. "Gotta be more careful about your strategy there."

Rose continued smiling, but Jade could see she was starting to wring her hands in her lap. "I'll keep that in mind for future tactical considerations. Is Dirk still there, or did you knock him out to forestall further musical interruptions?"

"I'm still here," Dirk said as he poked his head into the frame. "I've got a chassis with some problems I'm trying to troubleshoot." He ducked back out of view. "Rest assured, I hear every word that is being spoken, and I'm on call as back-up referee."

"Cool," Dave said. "So, my dad's not around?"

Their mother sighed. "No, Calvin got roped into this meeting for the lab that he just couldn't get out of."

"Huh." Jade couldn't tell what his tone meant. He was quiet for a moment, then he said, "I guess the sciences have been chugging away, huh?"

Their mother laughed and leaned in. "Yep! We've got a good strong science train here, tons of experimental smoke getting flung up all over the place." She tilted her head, focusing on something behind Dave and Rose. "Hey, is there someone else with you two?"

Rose and Dave shared a small glance before Rose gestured Jade over. "Yes. This is our friend, Jade. She's a farmer here on O, and she's been a wonderful host to us."

Jade kneeled between Dave and Rose so she would be framed properly. "Hi!" She waved at Rose and Dave's mother. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh my god, you're adorable! Hi! I'm their mom, but you can call me Roxy!" Their mother waved back, more energetically than Jade would have expected from the woman who gave birth to Dave and Rose. "Dirk, come look at the cutie Dave and Rose picked up!"

Dirk's head came back into view. "Hey. Sorry for anything stupid those two did. I tried to be a good example for them, but there's only so much you can teach."

Jade smiled. "I think they're pretty good students! Dave's learned a lot about working on a farm."

"Okay, hold up, this is important information." Dirk disappeared off screen for a few moments, then reappeared next to his mother. "Now, exactly how many animals have thrown up, shat, or otherwise released bodily fluids onto Dave?"

"Exactly zero animals have done any of those things because I am basically a farming god," Dave said before Jade could think of how to answer. "I built an entire fence, it was pretty awesome."

"Really? That's super good, Dave, I'm proud of you!" His mother looked almost completely sincere, but something about her smile reminded Jade of Dave when he was shooting the breeze with John.

Dave shrugged. "It's cool, I'm just basically revolutionizing this entire society with how awesome I am. Nothing that major."

Jade gave Rose a sidelong look. Rose raised an eyebrow back at her before gesturing with her foot. Holding back a laugh, Jade nodded. Bolstered by her approval, Rose gave Dave a good kick in the ankle.

"Ah!" Dave doubled over and rubbed at his ankle. "Oh geez, I'm down. May day, may day. Send a medic, I've got a mortal wound over here."

Rose leaned back with a self-satisfied smirk. "Perhaps you've been smited for your hubris. Boasting is such a dangerous habit to indulge in, after all."

Dirk nodded solemnly. "Yeah, that was some powerful shit you were messing with there, claiming to be a god and all. You're just lucky you survived that first strike. Now you can move on with your life, learn from your mistakes." Statement made, he moved back off screen.

Dave sat up and readjusted his shades, which had slipped a little when he'd leaned over. "Well if I haven't learned by now, I'm not gonna start. Guess I'm just doomed to this eternal cycle of hubris and smiting."

Roxy shook her head. "There's only so much you can do, Dave. Keep fighting, I'm with you one hundred percent of the way." Roxy turned her full attention to Jade. "So! How did you fall in with these two? Don't feel like you have to hide anything, I know exactly what they get up to."

"Um..." Jade looked surreptitiously at Dave and Rose. Dave looked stoic as always, but behind his shades she could see he didn't seem too excited about the idea of Jade sharing stories. On her other side, Rose looked completely calm from the waist up, but her hands were tensely folded in her lap. Jade wanted to reach over and stroke her hands to help her relax a little, but it didn't feel like the right time. "It wasn't anything exciting, sorry. My brother and I invited them to eat with our family their first night here, and we've been helping them learn a little about ki'O culture ever since."

"Wow, that is crazy boring." Roxy sighed and leaned back. "It's so hard to get dirt on you two now. Moving off-planet was totes cheating of the highest degree."

"I think we established earlier that I am basically a cheating scoundrel," Rose said sweetly.

"Yep, cheating's the only chance we've got of winning," Dave said. "And hey, I think our time's just about up."

"Oh shit, I had more questions for Jade!" Roxy looked at something past the ansible on her end. "You're right, though, we're almost done here." She looked off to her right. "Got anything else to say, Dirk?"

"Glad you two aren't dead yet, keep it up," Dirk replied from off screen.

"Thank you for your concern," Rose said. "We were considering trying the local arsenic special, but we'll refrain out of respect to you."

"Appreciated."

"But yeah, guess we're out." Dave waved a little. "Good talking with you. Next time's a few months from now."

Roxy waved back. "I'm glad to see you're both doing well. I'll let Calvin know you said hi."

"That sounds good. Goodbye, Mother." Rose reached out and flipped the transmission switch off, cutting the image from the screen. She exhaled heavily and stretched her arms over her head. "That was fun."

Dave leaned over to rub at his ankle again. "Yeah, shitloads of fun. You kicked me pretty hard, you know."

"I know," Rose smirked. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't get too carried away."

"Are you going to be able to make it to your bed without any help, Dave?" Jade teased.

He sighed and threw one hand over his forehead. "You know, I don't think I can. I'm in need of some serious medical assistance here. I don't know how long I can hold on."

"Oh no!" Jade clapped her hands on her cheeks. "Don't worry, Dave, I'll take care of you!" She reached one arm under his legs and one arm around his shoulders, lifting him out of his chair. He clamped his arms around her neck as she took the three steps between his chair and the bed. She laid him down and tried to stand up straight again, but Dave kept his arms around her shoulders, dragging her down on top of him. "Dave!" she shouted through her laughter. "This is not making it easier to take care of you."

He shook his head slightly, his face covered by Jade's hair. "Nope, this is the best medicine I could ask for. I can feel myself getting better already. It's a miracle, doc."

"Oh yeah?" Jade sat up a little and drew her hair back behind her shoulders. Dave's sunglasses had shifted down his nose, letting her have an unobstructed view of his eyes for once. "How good are you feeling?"

He gave her a small smile that lit his eyes up. "I am feeling pretty fucking fine." He reached his hand up, kissing Jade. "You feeling good?"

"Yeah, I feel good," Jade said as she kissed Dave back. They stayed like that for a few moments, staring into each other's eyes, before a clatter on the desk grabbed their attention.

Rose was standing there, trying awkwardly to hold the ansible up. "Sorry, I was going to just go return this and I didn't grab hold of it quite the right way." She tried to fix her grip without dropping the machine. "Carry on, pretend I'm not here."

"Fat chance of that," Dave mumbled under his breath. Jade gave him a little swat on the shoulder before rolling off the bed. "Here, let me help you get a better grip on it," she offered. She supported it from the bottom as Rose found better places to put her hands. When she had it settled, Jade let go again. "There, that's much better!"

"Thank you, Jade," Rose said with a warm smile. "And..." Rose sucked her cheeks in a little. "Thank you for not telling our mother everything about our relationships with you."

Jade smiled and briefly kissed Rose. "It's fine. You like your privacy. I can understand that." She opened the door so Rose could go to drop the ansible off. "Now get out of here so I can seduce your brother in peace."

"Oh, I would never want to get in the way of that," Rose said as she moved out the door. "I'll see you two later, then."

"Much later," Dave called out after her. "Like tomorrow maybe."

"In your dreams, Dave!" Rose's words came from down the hallway. Giggling, Jade closed the door before turning back to Dave. "Okay, prepare yourself for some serious seducing!" she said as she sat back on the bed.

He shifted his glasses back into place. "Oh believe me, I am ready to be seduced. Got my fainting couch laid out and everything. Help out a young maiden whose heart yearns only for love. Make me swoon."

Jade laughed and leaned in, but before she could do anything, someone knocked on the door. "I dropped a wire, could one of you help me pick it up?" Rose asked from the other side.

"No!" Jade and Dave shouted back at her in unison.

* * *

Dave dropped off the last set of dishes from dinner in the kitchen. He and Rose had joined John and Jade's family for dinner again, fighting through the winter weather for the chance. He'd had about three more bowls of the evening's stew than he should have, but it was so tasty he didn't care. Even full to bursting, he would've taken another bowl if anyone had offered.

Joey, who was on dish duty with Jade that night, nodded in curt appreciation at him. "Thanks for the help."

"No prob," Dave said in return. She smiled politely and returned to the washing, clearly not in the mood for small talk. He shrugged at her back and stepped over to Jade, who was drying the dishes Joey washed. He asked, "You sure you won't join us after you're done here?"

"Yeah, sorry," she said. "I'd really love to, but we're gonna be here a while and I've got an early day tomorrow."

"Okay." Dave gave her a kiss on the cheek (and not one of their weird ki'O kisses, either) before wandering into the living room, where the rest of the family and Rose were gathered.

"Dave!" John waved him over to the bench he and Rose were sitting on. Dave joined them, sandwiching John between his sister and himself. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what the evening's plans were.

Most of the children were being put to bed by Elizabeth and Jude, but Casey was glued to her father's side. They'd celebrated her birthday about a month back, and she was totally convinced she was basically an adult now. That meant staying up late and doing important adult things. It looked like she was struggling hard against sleeping. It was almost cute, in a dumb kid way.

Jane was firmly ensconced in her personal chair, a couple blankets piled up for extra warmth. She chatted with Lynae - Dave couldn't hear exactly what they were talking about, but they were giggling way too much for a pair of old ladies, so they probably weren't up to anything good. Paul was on another bench on Jane's other side, keeping Casey from falling flat on her face. Finally, Jake and Binam were standing in a corner of the room, talking quietly near a pile of things. They looked like instruments, but Dave had never seen those exact sorts of instruments before.

"Okay, everybody!" Jake boomed at his customary volume. Dave swore he could feel his bones vibrate every time the man spoke. "Let's have a little music to jolly up the evening, shall we?" He picked up a string instrument and carried it to a small seat in front of the fireplace. He plucked it a few times, adjusting the strings' tension once or twice.

While he was doing that, Binam picked up an instrument and offered it to Paul. "Not yet," he said, gesturing subtly at Casey, who was looking a little more awake with the promise of music. Binam smiled understandingly and offered it to John instead, who gladly took it. The instrument looked like a small horn with a handle on the bottom.

John and Jake fiddled with their instruments for a few moments before starting in on a simple tune. It was a pretty boring song, really - they were playing it well, but Dave wasn't impressed. And then Binam started singing.

Dave barely paid attention to the words he was singing - some kind of story, Rose was probably shitting herself about it - because the man had a voice like a heavenly choir wrapped in velvet and dipped in the sweetest chocolate you'd ever tasted. The simple instrumental made sense now, both because you were supposed to be listening to the story, not the music, and because covering up a voice like Binam's would've been the basest crime a person could commit.

The song finished soon enough - too soon for Dave's taste. John looked at Rose and Dave for their reactions while the rest of the family discussed the choice of song. "So? How was that?"

"I'm sorry, John, but I'm running off with your dad," Dave said immediately. "That man has a voice that is doing all sorts of things to me. I want him to throw me over his shoulder, ride off into the sunset, and make me his."

John flinched, and he looked a little like he was going to be sick. Dave couldn't understand why until Rose caught his attention behind John's back and mouthed "moiety" at him.

Dave backpedaled immediately. "Oh shit, John, sorry. It was just a joke, a really fucking awful one."

"Dave has a talent for awful jokes," Rose added.

"Yeah, it's like my brain says, 'What's the absolute worse thing I could say here?' and then goes with something even worse just cuz it can."

John breathed in a little unsteadily and smiled shakily at Dave. "I'm okay. Just... never make that joke again. Ever."

Dave nodded solemnly. "I'll toss myself over a cliff if I ever do it again." He paused. Then, without any sort of input from his brain, his mouth said, "So if I wanted Jake to throw me over his shoulder and carry me off into the sunset, would that be okay, or - "

John shoved at Dave with a silly grin, knocking him off the bench. His grin immediately morphed into a look of concern. "Crap, are you okay? I didn't mean to shove you that hard!"

Dave sat up from where he'd fallen. "Nah, I deserved that. We're cool."

"Good." John offered his hand to Dave, but Dave waved it off. Instead he rearranged himself so he was leaning against the bench and John's legs. He looked up at John, who chuckled and ruffled his hair a little.

"Well Jane, if it's energy you want, we'll give you a ripsnorter!" Jake suddenly boomed. He started playing quick and light before gesturing for John to join in. John gave it another few measures before starting, somehow keeping up with his otherfather's playing. (Dave gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder for remembering that term.) The two raced each other through the song, speeding up and up until it was practically impossible to follow what they were doing anymore.

Finally, with one last theatrical flourish, both players finished their song. Jake shook out his hands dramatically, while John huffed and puffed, trying to get his breath back. Rose rubbed his back, causing John to give her a grateful smile.

The rest of the family clapped, and Jane said, "That was certainly energetic, Jake, thank you."

"Yes, but I think it's time for something a little calmer," Paul added, bringing everyone's attention to Casey again. The little girl was obviously energized by the exciting performance, but she looked like she was about two seconds from crashing.

"I've got just the thing," Binam said. He walked to the instrument pile and picked up a very long flute-looking thing. Coming back, he took Jake's seat in front of the fireplace and started a slow, almost mournful piece. The flute's low hum lulled everyone into a more peaceful state. There was definitely a lot of yawning, and Casey slumped over in her father's lap.

When he finished, the family members all complimented his playing, praise he took in humble measure. Paul picked up Casey carefully, carrying her out of the living room towards her bedroom, and the others slowly made their way out as well. John began moving the instruments back to the pile in the corner, waving off any of his family members who tried to stay and help.

When everyone was out of the room, Rose caught Dave's eye and gestured at the instruments, saying, "Dave, why don't you try playing a song with John?"

"What?" Dave said, surprised. "Rose, I don't know how to play any of those."

"Not true," she countered. "You're quite a good percussionist."

"Really?" John asked as he sat on the bench again, looking between Rose and Dave. "You should totally play with us, then!"

Dave curled up a little. "I haven't played in years, dude. I'd stomp all over your songs like a three month old puppy with a new chew toy. No fun for anyone at all."

"Just give it a try! Here," John jumped forward off the bench, making Dave topple backwards. He righted himself and readjusted his shades as John grabbed a conical drum from the instruments in the corner and came back. "You can use this one."

Dave looked from the drum to John and back again, trying to figure out how hard John would push this. Finally, he shrugged and grabbed the instrument. "Warning you now, I'll probably fuck this up really bad."

John just smiled and raised his horn thing, still standing. Dave moved back up onto the bench so he could play the drum easier. He tapped it a few times on the top at different places, and another couple on the sides, figuring out what sort of sounds the drum could make. When he was ready, he gave John a short nod.

John started by playing something smooth and melodic. Dave listened for a few measures before tapping out a simple beat to underscore John's notes. John flashed a grin at him in the middle of taking a breath, and then he stepped up his rhythm, pulling Dave along.

Once he got used to the new pace, Dave started improvising, throwing in riffs from the sides of the drum to shake up his sound a little. Some of his improvs threw John for a few beats, but he always rallied quickly and tossed something fun back at Dave.

Their duet didn't sound perfect, since it was just a weird-sounding horn and a drum, but it was fun. Dave had forgotten how much fun he had playing music with someone else - he and Rose attended concerts and musical rituals doing their jobs, but they were only listeners really. They didn't get to join in and make the music themselves.

John finally wound the song down. When he stopped beating the drum, Dave felt his hands tingling all over. He stretched them out as John said, "That was... that was _amazing_." John's face was aglow with admiration and love.

Dave carried his drum to the pile of instruments to escape that look on John's face, still uncomfortably conscious of Rose's presence. "Yeah, sweet jam," he said, trying to play things cool.

"It sounded very nice," Rose said from her seat on the bench. "Different from what you were playing earlier, of course, but still very nice."

"Yeah, no one in the family plays the drum like you did," John said, joining Dave at the instrument pile. He put his horn thing away carefully and smiled at Dave, his face still painfully open. Behind him, Rose gestured that she'd meet him outside and left the room, leaving him alone with John.

Dave relaxed when she left, turning to face John more fully. "Thanks for having us stay," he said.

"I'm glad you did," John replied. "We usually play just the traditional stuff, which is fine - I love the classics! - but it's good to just play around with the music, too."

"Yeah, it is." Dave almost put his hands in his pockets, but he forced them to stay out. Reluctantly, he said, "Well, I should probably head out. Weather outside is frightful and all."

John chewed his lip a little, like he was thinking of saying something but wasn't sure if he should. The sight was so fucking adorable, Dave felt like he was gonna have a heart attack. Eventually, John just shook his head a little, like he was deciding not to say it after all, and said instead, "Yeah, I guess you should." He reached up to caress Dave's cheek, a motion Dave still found a little weird even after dating the ki'O pair for a few months now. It wasn't a bad weird, though.

He returned the gesture, and they stood in the living room for a few moments, just appreciating each other's presence. Dave pulled out of it before he could do anything stupid like ask to stay the night. "See you," Dave said weakly before he left.

* * *

_Spring_

Rose walked through the Prospit farmholding complex, trying to find John while avoiding the piles of snow that hadn't melted yet. They were due for a date, but he hadn't met her at the front gate like he'd promised to. "John? Where are you?"

"Rose!" She turned to find Jane, not John, flagging her down from her seat on the back porch of the main house. "If you're looking for John, he's still shoveling out the last of the snow around the barn."

"Oh." Rose pursed her lips. "I suppose I could go keep him company - "

"Nonsense! Come, sit here with me." The woman patted the wood next to her. Warily, Rose took the offered seat. Jane laughed at her caution. "Nothing to worry about! There's no prank or trick set up here, hoo hoo hoo!"

Rose considered those words carefully. "I feel as though that's only because you couldn't be sure I was going to be here."

Jane laughed again. Behind the laughter, though, there was a hint of something much sharper in her eyes. "Oh, I can see what John and Jade like about you. You're a very clever girl." Her sharp look became much more pronounced. "I have to wonder why a clever girl like you is spending all her time here, instead of the university or with the elders. They would have much more comprehensive knowledge of our ways."

Rose's spine shot ramrod-straight, as it always did when she grew angry. "We've spoken with many other people during our time here," she said, drawing upon her most diplomatic tones, "but being here gives us a much more personal appreciation of this world. First-hand accounts are always preferable to their alternatives, after all."

Jane nodded slowly without changing the expression on her face. "Very logical, indeed. You have been quite well educated. Still," Here the old woman leaned in slightly. "While you've been gathering information for your reports, I wonder if you realize the impact you've been creating here."

Rose frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean by that."

"No, I'm sure you don't." The older woman dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. "John and Jade are both very impressionable, and while you and your brother are playing around, those two are forming a dangerous attachment to you. I'm not looking forward to the fallout when you run off to the stars again and leave those two behind."

Rose didn't move, not trusting herself to do anything just yet. Her hands and back shook with anger, and she wanted nothing more than to verbally rip the old woman apart. She knew blowing up at her would create even more problems, though, so she waited until she could trust her voice again to say, "I see I was naive to think there weren't any tricks waiting for me here."

"Yes, a very important lesson to learn!" Jane said, her sharp eyes still on Rose. "Always expect a trick, especially when someone tells you there isn't one to be found."

"A lesson I'll take to heart," Rose said, not breaking the eye contact. They stared each other down while Rose thought about what she should say next. She was torn between telling the old woman to mind her own business, and laying out exactly what John and Jade already meant to her. Eventually, she said simply, "While none of us know exactly where this relationship is heading, we are all invested in it. Don't you dare say Dave and I are just playing around. We know very well how important this is."

"Do you?" Jane gestured at the farm. "My sedoretu built this farm from the ground up. We worked hard for years, sometimes skirting by on nothing but tears and sweat, and now we finally have something to show for it. I won't let anything threaten this farm's livelihood, or my children's happiness."

"Hey, Rose! Sorry I'm late!" Rose's reply was cut short by a shout from John, who was running towards her from the direction of the barn. For a moment, her anger was flushed out by happiness, a small smile appearing on her face. She quickly remembered the old woman next to her, though, who was now considering her carefully, and her smile smoothed out almost to a scowl. When John arrived, his easy smile fell a little when he sensed the tension between his mother and Rose. "Is everything... okay?" He looked back and forth between the women in concern.

"Everything's fine, John," Jane said as she slowly stood up. "I was just getting to know Rose here a little better." She gave Rose a thoughtful look. "We had a very enlightening conversation. Don't you think, Rose?"

Rose smiled with venomous decorum. "Yes, very enlightening."

Jane smiled, much more warmly than Rose expected. "More enlightening than you know, I think! Hoo hoo!" She nodded at John. "I'll leave you youngsters alone, then. Don't get caught doing anything I wouldn't do!" She ruffled John's hair slightly, an impressive feat considering he had about a foot and a half on her, and meandered off towards one of the farm's other buildings.

After he got his hair back in order, John joined Rose on the porch. "Are you okay? You look a little tense."

"I'm fine," Rose said reflexively. When John put his hand on her knee, though, she realized she was still clenching her muscles tight. She forced herself to relax, laying one of her hands on John's. "Your mother had a few things she felt she needed to say to me."

"Oh." John sighed. "Yeah, I probably should've expected her to do something like that. Sorry, I should've warned you."

Rose shrugged. "It's fine." John turned his hand over to hold Rose's, and she was a little surprised to find she was actually okay. She stood and pulled John off the porch, smiling warmly at him. "Now, I believe you owe me a date."

"Yes, ma'am!" John dropped Rose's hand to offer his arm as a proper escort would. "Shall we?" Rose grandly took his arm, and the pair strolled along.

* * *

"You're gonna throw your back out if you toss them like that all day!" Jade yelled at Dave from the floor of the barn. "Use your knees and your hips more than your shoulders!"

Up in the loft, Dave gave her a look. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

It was more of a complaint than a question, but Jade answered him anyway. "It means stop fucking around or you'll come flying down from there with the next sack of feed you throw!"

Dave shook his head as he grabbed another sack, grumbling under his breath. Jade could only catch a few words here and there as he tossed a few sacks to the ground below - "volunteered my stupid ass for this", "ungrateful animals won't even care", and plenty of other things like that. "If you don't want to help out here, I'm sure Rose would love your help collating your reports from the last year!"

Dave dropped the sack in his hands and glared down at her. "Don't even joke about that. I was literally dying from boredom before you came and grabbed me. My head was foggy, my lungs were closing up. I was heading straight for that bright light in the sky. I'd throw myself off this loft before I went back to that hellhole."

Jade shrugged. Paperwork wasn't that terrifying to her, but Dave liked to be dramatic. She counted up the sacks that had been tossed down already. "Well, you've only got three to go now, so we're almost done here."

"Hot damn." Dave swung into action, tossing the three sacks into the air one after the other. When the last one had landed, he dropped off the side of the loft himself, holding onto the ledge for a few seconds before falling to the floor with a loud thump, throwing a cloud of dust into the air. He patted most of the dust off himself and said, "What's next on the agenda?"

Jade patted the wheelbarrow next to her. "Now we load up half these bags and bring them to the yama's emergency shelter."

"And the other half?" Dave asked as he started to pile sacks into the wheelbarrow.

"Those will go in the lean-to by the house," Jade answered. "That gives us food somewhere easily accessible this side of the farm, and it means we're less likely to lose all our supplies if some disaster happens."

Dave nodded. "You're the boss. Just tell me where to be."

* * *

_Summer_

"See there? That cluster right above the barn?" John pointed out at the stars he was talking about, a group of about five or six stars arrayed in a rough circle. They were just visible from where he and Rose were lying in one of the farm's fields. "That's the front wheel of the Cart."

"The front wheel?" Rose asked. "How big is this cart?"

John smiled. "It's pretty big! But the rest of the Cart is actually over there." He waved vaguely over to the horizon on his right. "We can't see it right now because it's behind those trees, though."

Rose hummed a little. "That's too bad. So, the front wheel fell off this cart and rolled all the way over there?"

"Yup! It was a very dramatic event," John said as seriously as he could.

"Of course. Only the most spectacular events deserve to be immortalized in the stars." She gestured almost straight overhead. "For example, those stars up there clearly depict the first yama being born."

John twisted his head this way and that. "Which stars are you talking about?"

"Here." She grabbed his hand and pointed at a bright blue star. "That's the point of her nose, and those are her neck... " Rose curved their hands through the air. "... And that cluster is the primordial muck she climbed out of, of course."

John nodded solemnly. "Of course, it's so obvious. I can't believe I never noticed it until now."

Rose brought their hands down, still grasping John's. "These things happen. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it." The pair lapsed into silence, enjoying the quiet summer night together.

* * *

"John?"

"Yeah, Dave?"

"Why the fuck did you think I was gonna fall for this?

"Um... because you love me?"

"It's literally a tin can connected to a sack with some wool patched on here and there. How the hell was that supposed to make me think there was some fucking weresheep running around and attacking things in the night?"

"... So I guess you don't want to hear about the moon frogs, either."

* * *

Rose looked down into the water. "You're sure I can't just sunbathe? I'd be fine simply watching the rest of you play around." She eyed John and Dave splashing each other a little further upstream.

Jade, who was floating in the center of the river, rolled her eyes at Rose. "Yes, I am completely sure you can't just _sunbathe_. Now come on, before I come out and get you myself!"

Rose sighed and stepped into the water. She slowly waded in up to her waist, ignoring Jade's plaintive treaties to dunk her head under and just get it over with already. "I will do this in my own time or not at all," Rose warned.

Jade exhaled dramatically and fell backwards, floating on the surface of the water. The peaceful activity was disturbed somewhat by the turbulent waves coming from John and Dave, who were wrestling with each other over something. Rose shuddered as the water lapped up against her body. _I wish there were some better way of cooling off here,_ she thought distastefully. She thought longingly of her climate-controlled rooms on previous planets, where she could hide herself away and pretend nature was something that happened to other people.

Jade flipped over in the water and stood up fully, letting the water stream off her burgundy body. "Are you done being fussy yet? Are you ready to have some real fun?"

Rose blinked, distracted by the beautiful sight in front of her. _I suppose nature does provide certain advantages, though._ "That depends on what you mean by real fun."

"You know! Fun!" Jade sat in the water again, keeping her feet off the bottom of the river and bobbing a little as if that was illustrating her point better. "Swimming is fun!"

"I'm sure you think so," Rose said dryly. "I've always preferred staying well away from deep bodies of water unless they were natural hot springs."

"Ugh! John! Rose is refusing to have fun!" Jade yelled to her brother.

The boys paused their wrestling. "What kind of fun?" John yelled back.

"The swimming kind!"

This time, Dave yelled, "Oh yeah, she does that. Just dunk her underwater and swim away real fast, that's what I usually do."

"And that is why you receive such wonderful birthday presents from me, Dave!" Rose yelled at him. She gave Jade a strong look. "I would strongly suggest you ignore Dave in this situation."

Jade laughed. "Oh, I wasn't even thinking about trying that. Here." She offered Rose a hand. "How about we move downstream a little and just float for a while? Is that close enough to sunbathing for you?"

Rose smiled. "Yes, I think that would be very nice, indeed."

* * *

_Autumn_

John ran his hands over the vegetable in front of him, trying to decide whether it was worth picking or not. After a few moments of consideration, he shrugged and left it where it was. It didn't feel ready to him, and someone else could always pick it if they felt differently.

He worked his way to the end of the row, filling his basket as he went. When he got to the end, he found Dave and Rose waiting for him. "Oh! Hey! We weren't expecting to see you today." The pair had told John and Jade that they had some official Mobile business to take care of.

Dave had a little smile, the kind he usually didn't even realize was there. "We handled that in no time, like the professionals we are. Just snapped our fingers and the deed was done." He shuffled his feet a little. "So, you and Jade free to take a walk?"

"Yeah, sure." John walked his basket to where Jade and Liza were working on winter prep, with Dave and Rose following. Jade looked up as they approached. "Oh, hi guys!" She wiped her hands on her clothes as John dropped off his basket. Jade turned to Liza and said, "We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," she replied. "Hurry back, though." John and Jade both agreed, and the foursome walked away with Rose and Dave in the lead.

"So," Jade said as they exited the front gate, "where'd you wanna walk to?"

Rose looked over her shoulder and said, "We thought we'd head back to the cottage clearing. We haven't been there in quite some time, after all."

John tried to remember the last time they'd gathered at the stone cottage. "Wow, yeah, we haven't been back since that scavenger hunt with the kids, huh?"

Dave twitched. "Thanks for reminding me of that shitshow. Little demons fucking showered me in bugs and lizards and crap."

"Yeah, that was hilarious," John said. "Besides, you got them all back with that river mud stunt, remember?"

"Heh, yeah, that was pretty great."

The group reminisced about all they had done together for the last year until they reached the clearing. Dave and Rose both stood by the boulder, while John and Jade settled themselves on the log. Over the past year, they'd carved and smoothed the trunk out for maximum comfort.

When they were all settled, Rose and Dave gave each other a look before Rose took a deep breath. "We - both of us have greatly enjoyed our time with you over the last year." She hesitated, then continued, "It's honestly been the happiest year of my life."

"Yeah, there's no question that this place right here is the best fucking place in the entire universe," Dave added.

John's heart started thumping hard, and he shared a nervous look with Jade. She looked back to Rose and Dave to ask, "Are you... is this you guys telling us goodbye?"

"What? No!" Dave shouted. "Holy shit, no, wow, that is like the exact opposite of what's happening here."

John frowned, trying to work that out. "The opposite?"

"Yes, we, uh..." Rose sighed and took a deep breath. "We've talked it over, and we're both prepared to retire as Mobiles and settle down here. With you."

"You mean... " Jade's voice trembled a little with hope.

"We wanna marry you guys," Dave said. "Get us fitted for our white dresses, pick out the nice bouquets, and whatever the fuck you guys do for your weddings. We'll convert to your moiety system, we'll work on the farm with you, and we'll never go off-planet again. What d'you say?"

John froze, barely able to believe what he'd just heard. Jade burst into action after a moment, screaming "Yes! Holy shit, yes!" and jumping at Dave, knocking him to the ground. John stayed where he was, trying to understand just what exactly was happening.

"John?" Rose stood in front of him, looking at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

He looked her in the eyes. "This is for real, right?" John whispered.

Rose smiled warmly, love written across her entire face. "Yes, John. This is real."

When he heard that, his face automatically split into the biggest grin it could possibly hold. He leapt to his feet and picked Rose up in a giant bear hug, twirling her around happily. Rose clutched at him in mostly-feigned terror, and Dave and Jade laughed from their position on the ground, and John knew he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life.


End file.
